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u 



LLOYD'S 

STEAMBOAT DIRECTORY, 

AND 

i)ISASTErxS ON THE WESTERN WATERS, ' 

CONTAINING TUE HISTORY OF TUE - 

FIRST ArrLICATIOX OF STEAM, 

AS A :M0TIVE POWER; 

THE LIVES OF 

JOHN FITCH AND llOBERT FULTON, 

LIKENESSES & ENGRAVINGS OF THEIR FIRST STEAMBOATS. 

t AKLY SCENES OX THE WESTERN WATERS, FROil 1798 TO 1812— HISTORY OF THE EARLY 
STEAMBOAT NAVIGATION ON WESTERN AVATERS-ENGRAVINGS OF THE ROATS, 

rrl.I, ACCauNTS OF ALL THE BTEAMBIUT DISASTERS SINCE THE FIRST APPLICATIOy OF STEAM KOWV TO *rf« 

l-KF.M-iM PATr, WITH LISTS OF THE KILLETJ AND \ruUMiEI> — A COMPLETE LIST OF STEAM R'lATS VNTl ALL OTHP.H 

VESsLLS .VOW AFLOAT 0.\ THE WEilER.N RIVEKs AND LAKES — WUE.N AND WHEKE BUILT, A.ND THEIR TONNAGE : 

liTaps of tijc &\)U anb Ulississippi ^lifatrs, 

Towns, Cities, Landings, Population and Distances correctly laid down on the Okio, 

Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Cumberland, Kentucky, Green, 

Illinois, Arkansas, White, Bed and Yazoo Bivers. 

HISTORY OF 

ALL THE RAIL ROADS IN THE UNITED STATES; 

gitpcmEn; Dictos an^ f Iictdjcs nf 

r^Hshurih, TVifeh'nn. Cincinna/i, Lou.isvi"^, /li.'K- nf Ohi/t, Xi.^'in7l'. Prirn. F,J's of Sf. An'lumv. Gate' 

itf Utf HtrJ-'t Mniiit-iiiii. S' Lniii. A''/" Ur'funs. ami }I ihiU—SWJr^'n'j nf th' (Viio uwi MUsia- 

tij/pi Jiivert:. and l/oe.ir Tri.'nit iri,:^, Sr»irf-x. I^'n-jt'i. Ar,;i of nwit'r.i dr.iiv^il. d-c. S\'aiiut 

iij all the U. S. Zii4X7uvd I'd-^U ami JCnaiiU'Ti — Faft time nf JS'mUs, 

THE EARTHQUAKE IN 1812, Jfcc, &3 

ONE HUNDRED FINE ENGRAVINGS, AND SIXTY MAPS, 

Bcins a Valuable CtatiBtical Work, as well as a Guide-Book for tlie Travcllins Public. 
BY JAMES T. LLOYD. 



'>V 




CINCINNATI, OHIO: 

JAMES T. LLOYD & C0<^ 

CHICAGO, ILL.: 

D. B. COOKE & CO., 

135 LAKE STKEET. 

1856. 



v.. :> 



120 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S56, by 

E. LLOYD, 

In the Clerk's OGiee of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



Stereotyped and Printed by JKSPER HARDING, 

NO. 57 SOUTH TnlBD ST., PHIL4D£LPHI.\. 



\. 



rREFACE. 



"With all that profusion of Literature, for which the present age is 
remarkaLle, an opportunity sometimes offers to supply the public with a 
book which everybody admits to be a desideratum. We hope it is not pre- 
sumptuous on our part to believe that the present work is one of that class 
wliich the American public cannot easily dispense with, inasmuch as it pre- 
sents a record of facts and events which form an interesting and important 
part of our country's history. la this volume, if we do not greatly deceive 
ourselves, the reader will find a more complete account of the beginning and 
progress of Steam Navigation in the United States, and in the Great West 
e-specially, than has ever been comprised in any previous publication. As 
inciHental to the history%f Steam Navigation in the West, we have introduced 
a copious detail of the awful and heart-rending accidents which have been 
of too frequent occurrence in that region. We have also had drawn at great 
expense maps of the Western Rivers with the Towns, Cities, Landings, and 
Islands, correctly laid down, makinj a coviplcte guide BOOK for Cue travellers 
on these rivers. These maps arc the only correct ones now printed, they are 
complete and reliable, having been drawn recently by Capt. John Tucker of 
Campbell Co., Ky., who is the oldest and best pilot on the western waters. 
We have also given in this volume a History of all the Railroads in the 
United States, their length, cost, officers, and other information to the travel- 
ling public of great worth; and as there are wion^ Boats on the Ohio and 
Mississippi Rivers unsafe and dangerous, we have concluded to name and 
point out to the travellers on these waters the safest and l/cst Boats in each 
trade ; and we pledge ourselves to notice no boat unworthy of the patronage 
of the travelling community. 

(iii) 



iv PREFACE. 

The price of this volume is so small, that every man, woman and child, 
should have a copy for reference when travelling either by Railroad or 
Sioimhoat. In short, we have more than redeemed the promises made in our 
prospectus, by supplying the American public with a book which we hope 
will be found in the hands of every one. It is scarcely necessary to 
say anything respecting the mechanical execution and artistical embellish- 
ments of this work, as their beauty and excellence will be discoverable at a 
glance. The stereotyping was executed by Mr. J. A. Tiernan, the gentle- 
manly superintendent of Messrs. Jesper Harding & Son's Stereotype Found- 
ry, and is in every way equal to any work ever done in the United States. 

We learn that several persons are now travelling over the different states, 
collecting advertisements and moneys ostensibly on our account. One of 
these impostors uses our name ; having a copy of the work with him, he 
often succeeds in defrauding Railroad officers and business men out of large 
amounts. We warn the public against these scamps, as we cannot be respon- 
sible for their conduct. 

JAMES T. LLOYD. 
Cincinnati, August, 1856. 



INDEX. 



AuBnicA, explosion of the 
Auiwrica Suuth, burning of 
A. N. Johnson, explosion of - 
Americiin Lakes, dimensions of 
Anjrlu Norman, explosion of - 
Anthony Wayne, sinking of - 



PAOE 

. 241 
. 261 

- 151 

- 27;i 

. i8y 

. 211 

Atlantic and Ogdeusburg, collision of - 148 
Augusta, explosion of - - - - 167 
Avery, John L., sinking of - - - 197 
Awful conthiirration at St. Louis - - 263 
Batls, Edward, explosion of - - - 175 
Belle of ClarksviUo, collision of - - 135 
Belle of the West, burning of - - • 245 
Belle Zane, sinking of - - - - 265 
Ben Franklin, explosion of the - - 74 
Ben Sherrod, burning of ... 96 

Black Hawk, exj)losiou of the - - - 87 
Boatd on the Lakes . , - . 273 

Boonslick and Missouri Belle, collision of 153 
Brandywine, burning of - . - - 102 
Brilliant, exjilosion of - - - - 221 
Brown, Gen., explosion of - - - 114 
Buckeye and De Soto, collision of . - 242 
Bulletin, No. 2, loss of - - - - 310 
Cairo, 111., sketch of - - - - 147 
Camden and Amboy Railroad - . - 312 
Car of Commerce, explosion of - - 120 
Caroline, burning of - - . - 236 
Chamois, exjilosion of . - - - 157 
Chariton, explosion of - . - - 95 
Chesapeake and sohr Porter, collision of 203 
Cincinnati, sketch of - - - - 119 
Cincinnati Pilots, list of - . - - 296 
Cincinnati Engineers, list of - - - 298 
Clarksville, Belle of, and Louisiana, coU'd. 135 
Clarksville, burning of - - - - 169 
Cleveland and Columbus Railroad - - 314 
Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad - - 316 
Clipper, explosion of - - - - 213 
Collier, George, burning of - - - 321 
Collier, George, explosion of - - - 111 
Collins, E. K., burning of - - - 243 
Commencement of Steam Navigation - 40 
Concordia, explosion of - • - - 265 
Constitution, explosion of - - - 67 
Creole, burning of - - - - - 173 
Cumberland Kivcr, distances on - - 110 
Dimensions of American Lakes - -273 
Distances on Cumberland River - - 110 
Distances on Black River ... 234 
Distances on Currant River ... 234 
Distances on Illinois River ... 233 
Distances on Mississippi River - - 231 
Distances on Ohio River- ... los 
Distances on Ouachita River ... 235 
Distances on Little Red River . - 234 

Distances on Red River - . . . 235 
Distances on Tennessee River - - 1(19 

Distances on White River . . 234 

Distances on Upper Mississippi River - 231 
Distances on Yazoo River ... 235 
Dubui^ue, explosion of - . . - 77 



E.\ni.v Life on West. Waters, glimpses of 32 v ' 
Earthquake of 1811 - - - . 320 
Eclijise, steamer, her quick trips - . 279 
Elizabeth, explosion of - - - - 115 
Elizabeth, accident to ... . 156 
Engineers, New Orleans, list of . - 303 
Engineers, St. Louis .... 3118 
Enterprise, explosion of - . . - 82 
Enterprise, explosion of - - - - 117 
Erie, burning of - - - - - 121 
Fast time made by steamboats - - 274 
Floods and Freshets on Western Rivers - 257 ^ 
Fitch, John, life of . ... - 17 

Franklin, No. 2, collapse of - - - 230 
Forrest and Puhiskie, collision of - - 135 
Fulton, Robert, lifo of - - - -25 
Gb.nekal Brown, explosion of - .114 

Georgia, burning of .... 252 

Glencoe, explosion of . . - . 274 
Glimpses of Early Life on West'n Waters 32 
G. P. Griffith, loss of - . - - 263 
Grampus, explosion of . . - .67 
Guluare and Westvrood, collision of - 259 

Hornet, capsize of - - - - .79 
Illi.nois Rivkr. distances on - - - 233 
Jamics, St., explosion of - ... 237 
Joseph, St., explosion of - ... 259 
Kate Fle.mi.ng, loss of - . - - 187 
Kate Kearny, explosion of . - . 244 
Knoxville, explosion of - . - . 153 
Lexington, explosion of - - . . 324 
Lioness, explosion of - - . . h3 
Little Miami Railroad, - - . - 314 
Louisiana, explosion of - - - - 225 
Louisville, sketch of ... - 133 
Loui.s, St., .sketch of ... . 217 
Lucy Walker, explosion of - - - 142 
Marquitte, explosion of - - . 157 

Martha Washington, burning of - . 323 
Maria and Sultana, collision of . . 273 
Mayflower, burning of - - - . 321 
Mechanic, loss of - - - . - 260 ^ /• . 
Minor Disasters, ... - . aBt-^V*"/ 
McGregor, H' len, explosion of - - 69 
Mohican, explosion of - - . . 134 
Monmouth and Tromunt, collision of - 126 
Mosdle, explosion - - ... 80 
Mississippi, sketch of - - - . Itil 
Missouri Belle and Boonslick, collision of 163 
Nashville, sketch of - - - - 155 
Naichfs, tornado at .... 140 

New York and Erie Railroad - - - 317 
New Orleans Pilots, .... 303 • 

New Orleans, sketch of - . - . 249 
Ogdensdi'ko a.nd Atlantic, collision of 148 

Ohio River 46 

Ohio River, distances on ... los 

Oldest Steamboat Company, . - - 129 ^'' 
Orline St. John, burning of - - . 207 
Oronoko, explosion of - - - - 105 
Ore;;on, explosion of • - - - 195 
Ouachita River, distances on - . - 235 



VI 



INDEX. 



Perstav, explosion of - • - - 1(19 
I'iliit, ex]ilosion of - - - . -Ill 
Pilot, oxplosion of - - - - - 2t>l 
Pha'nix, burning of .... 177 

Pittsbur<,'h, sketch of - - . - 53 
Pncahnntiis, explosion of • - - 258 

Polander and Hornet, collision of - - 88 
Red Stone, explosion of - - - 223 

Rob Roy, explosion of - - . - 73 
Red River, distances on - - - . 235 
Railroail, Little Miami, Xenia, and Co- 
lumbus ---... 314 
Saluda, explosion of - - -Z'/T- 277 
Shi'pherdess, sinking of - - - . 137 
Steam as a Motive Power, history of - 7 
^ Steamers on the Western Waters, list of - 207 
Steamers on the Lakes, .... 273 
Steamers, twenty-three burned at St.Louis 2t)3 
St. Louis, sketch of .... 217 

St. Louis, engineers of - - . . 298 
St. Louis, pilots of . - . - . 299 



Pultana and Jfaria, collision of - -2 

Talismav AND Tempkst, collision of . It 

Tangipaho, burning of - . - . H., 
Teche, explosion of .... 63 

Tennessee, sinking of . - - .61 

Timor, No. 2, explosion of . - . 265 

Tennessee River, distances on . - 109 

Tornado at Natches, - . . .140 

Tri-color, explosion of . - . . 110 
Tuscaloosa, explosion of . ... 156 

Virginia, explosion of - - . . 246 

Walkkr, explosion of . . . . 131 

White River, distances on . - . 234 

Washington, explosion of - . - 55 

Washington, burning of . . . . 130 

Washington, George, loss of - . . 215 

VVheeling Va., sketch of . . . 81 

Yazoo River, distances on - - . 235 

Y.azoo River, sketch of . . . .161 

Zachary Taylor, explosion of - . 247 

Zane, Belle, sinking of - - - . 265 



ILLUSXr.ATIONS. 



Pagb 

Portrait of John Fitch, 18 
Fitch's PhiladelphiaBoat, 21 
Far tfiraile of Fitch's 

Writing. 23 

Portrait of Rob't Fulton. 26. 
Fulton's first Auier. Boat, 2'J 
Early Nav. on West. Wat'rs 33 
First West'n Steamboat, 42 
Enterprise on her 1st Trip, 43 
View of Pittsburgh, 52 

Map of Ohio river, No. 1, 54 
Exp. of the Washington, 56 
Map of Ohio River, No. 2, 58 
Exp. of the Constitution, 59 
Map of Ohio River, No. .3, 60 
Sinking of the Tennessee, 61 
Map of Ohio River, No. 4, 64 
Exp. of the Teche, 65 

Map of Ohio River, No. 5, 66 
Map of Ohio River, No. 6, 68 
M:ip of Ohio River. No. 7, 70 
Exp. of the Helen McGregor 71 
Map of Ohio River, No. 8, 72 
Exp. of the Ben Franklin, 74 
Map of Ohio River, No. 9, 76 
Map of Ohio River, No. 10, 78 
View of Wheelinir, Va., 80 

Map of Ohio River, No. 11, 84 
Exp. of the Lioness, 85 

Map of Ohio River, No. 12, 86 
Miip of Ohio River, No. 13, 88 
Exp. of the Moselle, 90 

Map of Ohio River, No. 14, 94 
Map of Ohio River, No. 15, 96 
Burn, of the lien Sherrod, 97 
Map of Ohio R., No. 16, 100 
Map of Ohio R, Xo. 17, 104 
Exp. of the i.iponoko, Idj 

Map of Ohio R., No. 18, 106 



Paoe 

Map of Ohio R., No. 19, 112 

Exp. of the Gen. Brown, 114 

Map of Ohio R., No. 20, 116 

View of Cincinnati, 118 

Burn, of the Erie, 122 

A Model West'n Boat, 128 

View of Louisville, 132 

Falls of the Ohio, 136 

Sink, of the Shepherdess, 138 

Tornado at Natchez, 141 

Exp. of the Lucy Walker, 143 

View of Cairo, 111., 146 

Exp. of the A. N. Johnson, 152 

View of Nashville, 154 

Exp. of the Knoxville, 159 
View of the Gates of the 

Rocky .Mountains, 160 
View of the Falls of St. 

Anthony, ]fi4 

-Map of .Missis. R., No. 1, 168 

Map of Missis. R., No. 2, 170 

Burn, of the Clarksville, 171 

Map of Missis. R., No. 3, 172 

" 4, 134 

" " " 5, 

" " « 6,' 

Burn, of the Phoenix, 
.Map of Missis. R., No. 7, 



Page 

Map of Missis. R.. No. 16, 198 

Sink, of the Jno. L. Avery, 199 

Map. of Missis. R., No. 17, 200 

" " " 18, 202 

" " " 19,204 

" " " 20, 206 

21, 208 

St. 

209 



176 
178 
179 
180 
182 

9, 184 
1S5 

10, 186 

" " " 11, ISS 

" " " 12,190 

Exp. of the Anglo Nor- 
man, 191 

Map of Missis. R., No. 13, 192 
" " " 14, 194 

" " " 15, 196 



Sink, of the Talisman, 
Map of Missis. R., No. 



Burn, of the Orlino 

John, 
Map of Missis. R., No. 22, 210 
" " 23, 212 

" " " 24, 214 

View of St. Louis, ' 216 

'Map of Missis. R., No. 25, 222 
I " " " 26, 224 

I Exp. of the Louisiana, 225 
j.Map of Missis. R.. No. 27, 226 
|Burn. of the Caroline, 230 

Exp. of the St. James, 238 
Exp. of the America, 241 

View of New Orleans, 248 
Bfirn. of the G.P. Griffith, 254 
High Water at Cairo, 256 

High Water, incidents of 257 
Sinking of the Mechanic, 260 
Burning of 23 steamers at 

St. Luuis, 262 

Sinkingof the Belle Zane, 266 
Explosion of the Glencoe, 274 
Explosion of the Soluda, 277 'Q.'^'/O 
Col. of Sultana A .Maria, 278 
Burning of the Bulletin. 310 
.Map of Cleveland and Pitts. 

Railroad, 316 

Map of N. Y. & Erie R.R 318 
Burning of the Martha 

Washington, 323 

Exp. of the Lexington, 325 



INTllODUCTIO?^. 



STEAM. 

rrS FIRST ADOPTION AS A MOTIVE POWKR— GRADUAL nrPROVEMENT IN THE MODES OP APPLT- 
ING IT — AND ITS ADAPTATION TO THE PURPOSES OF NAVIGATION. 

In connection with the special objects of this work, we have thought 
it expedient to give some historical account of that great Motor, which, 
more than any other human contrivance, except the art of printing, 
has been instrumental in improving the social, moral, and physical 
condition of our species. The first thing to be observed under this 
head, is the great uncertainty, the profound and almost impenetra- 
ble mystery, in which the origin of the steam-engine is involved. No 
age, no country, and no individual is permitted to enjoy the exclusive 
and undisputed honor which is due to the discovery. Some writers — 
with a good deal of fanciful license — have referred the first employ- 
ment of this motive power to an early date in Egyptian history, simply 
because they were unable to conceive how the pyramids could have 
been constructed without such machinery, or some apparatus of equal 
force. ^HowcA^er absurd may be this claim made in behalf of the an- 
cient Egyptians, the modern Spaniards have set up pretensions almost 
equally ridiculous. It is pretended by the compatriots of Don Quixote, 
on the authority of certain documents, real or imaginary, preserved in 
the royal archives at Samancus, that a Spanish sea-captain, named 
Blasco de Garay, exhibited to the Emperor and King Charles V., in 
the year 1543, an engine, intended to propel ships and other vessels of 
the largest size, even in a perfect calm, without the assistance of sails 
or oars. The description given of this machine is amusingly accurate, 
being, in fact, a mere pen and ink sketch of a modern steam-engine. 
These particulars are given in a recently published Spanish book, pur- 
porting to be a collection of original papers relating to the voyage of 
Columbus. 

(7) 



8 S T E A AI . 

The narrative proceeds to state that Captain De Garay brought his 
steam-engine to an experimental test, by applying it to the propulsion 
of a vessel of 209 tons, in the harbor of Barcelona. The experiment 
was tried in the presence of the Emperor and his son, Philip the 
Second ; and among other distinguished spectators were Henry de To- 
ledo, the governor ; Peter Cardona, the treasurer ; and Ravago, the 
Vice Chancellor. It is added that the experiment was entirely satis- 
factory to the Emperor, the Prince, and to all the high oflScers of state 
who witnessed it, and that the machine would have been brought into 
immediate requisition, had not some envious men of science denounced 
the engine as an expensive contrivance, not forgetting to hint at the 
probability of explosion. By these representations the opponents of 
Captain De Garay's project succeeded in frightening the royal family, 
and the consequence was that the world was deprived of the benefit of 
the steam-engine for several hundred years, and Spain lost the credit 
due to the discovery. The Emperor, however, to mollify the bitterness 
of De Garay's disappointment, gave him a bonus of 200,000 marave- 
dies, and ordered all the expenses of the experiment to be paid out of 
the public treasury. 

There is little reason to doubt that this story is purely fictitious, as 
the record is not regularly authenticated, and there is an obvious im- 
probability in the circumstance that Spain should have permitted her 
claim to the invention of the steam-engine to lie dormant for more than 
three centuries. 

Some faint conceptions of the utility of steam as a motive power, 
seems to have been entertained by ingenious and reflective men living 
at different periods, long before the invention was brought to any prac- 
tical result. Bulwer, in his novel called "The Last of the Barons," 
illustrates this supposition by introducing an imaginary inventor, called 
Adam Warner, the type of a large class of men, " wise beyond their 
age," who at every period of the world's history have suffered for their 
temerity in attempting to bring their cotemporaries up to their own 
intellectual level. The first persons mentioned in veritable history, 
who attempted to use steam-power, seem to have satisfied themselves 
with making it subservient only to purposes of amusement. We have 
seen a pictorial representation of " the first steam-engine," in the form 
of a human head, the boiler being placed inside, while the steam, es- 
caping from an aperture at the mouth, gave motion to a wheel resem- 
bling in construction the fans of a wind-mill.' 

There was another steam toy which, notwithstanding the priority 
claimed for the one just spoken of, appears to have been of a still more 



STEAM. 9 

ancient date. This was the iEolipile, or ball of iEolus, which is described 
as a metallic globe, having a long neck terminating in a minute orifice. 
This globe being filled with water, and subjected to the action of fire, 
generated steam, which was seen rushing with great force through the 
aperture. Although the power of steam was thus exemplified, it does 
not appear that the ancients ever applied it to any useful purpose ; 
indeed it was impossible for them to do so, by means of any contrivance 
similar to that just described ; for, in order to make the force of steam 
available, it is necessary to preserve it from contact with the atmos- 
phere, or any thing colder than itself, because if its temperature is 
lowered by such contact, it is immediately reduced to an inert mist or 
vapor. 

One of the first writers who mentions the vast powers of steam, and 
suggests the possibility of making these powers useful to mankind, is 
the French Engineer, Solomon de Cans, who flourished about the 
beginning of the seventeenth century. In the year 1623, De Cans 
published at Paris a folio volume on Moving Forces, in which he men- 
tions the experiment of heating water in a metallic sphere, in order to 
produce steam, adding that if the aperture be closed, the ball will burst 
with a detonation like that of a cannon. He also describes a method 
of raising water in a perpendicular tube by the application of heat, the 
agent being the steam from that portion of the water to which the 
heat is applied. 

The next pioneer to the march of improvement in steam apparatus, 
was the Marquis of Worcester, author of a celebrated book called " The 
Century of Inventions." The Marquis was not merely a speculative 
inventor, but in many cases reduced his theories to practice. He ap- 
pears to have made a variety of experiments with steam, and succeeded 
so well in some of them that he has occasionally been called the invent- 
or of the steam-engine. The "method of raising water," which was 
simply proposed by De Cans, was practically illustrated by "Worcester. 
We do not find, however, that he made any further progress in the ap- 
plication of steam-power than by using it to raise water in a column, 
on precisely the same principle which had been suggested by De Caus 
forty years before. If the machinery used in this operation was a 
" steam-engine," De Caus, and not Worcester, was the bona fide in- 
ventor. The Marquis, however, gives a more precise and intelligible 
account of the process than his French predecessor. He conducted 
his experiments, as he tells us, by using a cannon for his boiler ; and 
according to his own statement, he succeeded in projecting water to a 
height of forty feet, merely by the force of expansion or the genera- 



10 STEAM. 

tion of steam in the lower part of the column. This noble gentleman 
has been suspected of adding a little romance to the reality of his in- 
ventions ; but he was unquestionably a person of great enterprise and 
ingenuity. An account of his experiments with steam is given in the 
sixty-eighth proposition, in connection with the ninety-ninth and one 
hundredth of the "Century," and is entitled "An Admirable and Most 
Forcible Way to Drive up Water by Fire." 

About twenty years later, (a. d. 1683,) Sir Samuel Morland pre- 
pared a manuscript work, (the original copy of which is still preserved 
in the British museum,) in which the author describes a method of em- 
ploying steam as a mechanic power, seeming to claim for himself the 
credit of the invention. Morland's plan is merely a modification of 
the contrivances of De Cans and the Marquis of Worcester ; and there 
is reason to suppose that he subsequently became ashamed of his " in- 
vention," (probably on account of the ridicule which it excited,) for 
when his book was afterwards published at Paris, the account of the 
steam-engine was suppressed. The only particular in which Morland 
may be allowed to claim originality in this matter, is a calculation, 
which approximates to the truth, respecting the vast diflference in the 
space which water occupies in its natural state and that which it fills 
when expanded by heat, so as to assume the form of steam. As nu- 
merically designated by Morland, this difierence is proportioned as 
one to two thousand. Recent experiments prove that one cubic foot 
of water will produce about seventeen hundred cubic feet of steam ; so 
that the unassisted observations of Morland are measurably correct. 

We will next speak of the discoveries and improvements of Monsieur 
Denis Papin, an ingenious Frenchman, who, during a temporary resi- 
dence in England, near the end of the seventeenth century, devoted a 
great part of his time to pneumatic experiments. This gentleman, and 
-several other experimenters who followed in his track, did not propose 
to make steam the prime agent in the production of a moving power. 
The force which they designed to use was that of atmospheric pressure, 
steam being called into requisition merely as an auxiliary power, or to 
produce what the scientific men of that day were pleased to call a 
vacuum. Long before this time it had been proposed to employ the 
pressure of the atmo^here as a counter-balance ; and several simple 
machines, on this principle, had already been constructed. The prin- 
ciple, in fact, was that of the common sucking-pump, the object being 
to exhaust the air in a tube, beneath a block or piston exactly fitted to 
the cavity. The pump principle was modified by attaching the piston- 
rod to one end of a cross-beam, from the other extremity of which the 



STEAM. 11 

weight to be raised was suspended. Various plans had been devised 
for exhausting the air in the lower part of the tube or cylinder. Otto 
Guericke used the air-pump for this purpose ; but it occurred to Mons. 
Papin that the object might be attained with less labor and more expe- 
dition. In order to produce the desired " vacuum," his first idea 
was to explode a small quantity of gunpowder in the bottom of the 
cylinder, which, as he supposed, would expel the air through a valve 
opening upwards through the piston, while the immediate falling back 
of the valve would prevent the readmission of the air. It was found 
on trial, that a " complete vacuum" could not be eifected by this method, 
and Mons. Papin, after revolving various expedients in his mind, con- 
cluded at last to employ steam as the exhausting agent. 

The reader will observe, that in all previous attempts to use the power 
of steam, the sole object had been to raise water to a higher level ; and 
that purpose was effected merely by applying the steam directly to the 
surface of the water to be raised. Papin was the first to make the 
force of steam more generally available, by preparing for it a separate 
chamber, as it were, in the hollow of the cylinder ; — this he did by the 
introduction of the piston, and here was a long stride towards the per- 
fecting of the steam-engine. In sober truth, Mons. Papin was the 
first who really made a machine which deserved that name ; although, 
as we have previously observed, he was aiming at a different object, 
viz : the construction of an engine to be worked by atmospheric pressure. 
He is entitled to the credit due to the first application of two principles, 
which all his predecessors in their work of discovery had entirely over- 
looked. 1. Mons. Papin demonstrated the practicability of applying 
the moving force of steam, by means of the intermediate agency of the 
piston and its rod, to bodies on which it cannot act directly. 2. He 
recognized, as a constituent of the motive power, not the expansiveness 
of steam only, but its condensihility ; without which its expansive 
quality would be of little service. It was the misfortune of Mons. 
Papin to overlook the fact, that the motive power he sought would be 
more readily obtained by making steam the principal agent, instead 
of a subordinate. To this same inventor we are indebted for another 
important attachment to the steam-engine, namely : the safety-valve, 
which was employed by him in the apparatus called "Papin's Digester," 
which is still used to produce a powerful heat in cooking and chemical 
preparations. 

It had been remarked by De Cans and others, as an incidental fact, 
that water, when converted to steam, may be restored to its original 
state by the mere application of cold ; — but Papin was the first who 



12 STEAM. 

endeavored to make this circumstance useful in the operation of the 
machine. His method of condensation, however, was extremely 
awkward and dilatory ; so much so, at first, that the best expedient 
he could devise was to remove the fire, and then permit the enclosed 
vapor to cool of its own accord. 

Captain Savery is the next person on the record, who is supposed to 
have conti'ibuted to the progress of this invention. Several anecdotes 
are told of this gentleman, which seem to signify that his attention was 
accidentally directed to the subject which afterwards occupied so much 
of his thoughts. It is reported that he was one day refreshing himself 
with a bottle of wine at a tavern, and having thrown the flask into the 
fire, he observed that the small quantity of liquor which had been left 
in the vessel, became so expanded by the heat, as to fill the bottle com- 
pletely. Captain Savery then took up the bottle and plunged it, mouth 
downwards, into a basin of cold water, which stood near him, and 
admiringly beheld the water rising into the receiver, in which the con- 
densation of the steam had produced a partial vacuum. This trivial 
incident, it is said, first suggested to Savery the possibility of applying 
steam, or any other expansive and volatile fluid, to the most important 
uses. But it does not appear that he prosecuted his discovery far 
beyond that point which had already been reached by others. His 
greatest achievement was the adaptation of steam' power to the pro- 
duction of a vacuum in a simple machine, which merely answered the 
purpose of a sucking-pump of considerable power, which was found to 
be of practical utility in the process of raising water from wells or 
mines. He did not avail himself of Papin's improvements, but reverted 
to the old method of applying the steam directly to the surface of the 
Avater, which had been employed by the Marquis of Worcester many 
years before. Captain Savery, however, possessed so much ingenuity 
and mechanical skill, that he was enabled to contrive many facilities 
and improvements in the machinery constructed on these principles ; 
and his engines came to be in great request for supplying dwelling 
houses with water, and for other purposes. 

After the death of Captain Savery, (a. d. 1718,) his contrivance 
wa^much improved and simplified by Dr. Desaguliers. This last-named 
gentleman introduced an improved method of condensing the vapor in 
the receiver, by injecting a small current of cold water, whereas it 
had been the practice of Savery to cfi"ect this object by dashing water 
over the outside, which occasioned a great loss of time and waste of fuel. 

It has previously been remarked, that Monsieur Papin was the 
original contriver of the safety-valve for a special purpose, but Dr. 



STEAM. • 13 

Desaf^ullers first made it a custoniarj attaclimcnt of the steam-engine. 
Tlie safety-valve is a lid or stopper which covers an aperture in the 
boiler, and is retained in its place by a weight sufficient to resist the 
expansive power of the steam up to a certain point, while it must yield 
before the accumulated force of the confined vapor could terminate in 
an explosion. 

Two humble mechanics of Dartmouth, Devonshire, England, John 
Newcomen, a whitesmith, and John Galley, a glazier, are the next to 
take up this chain of invention. Newcomen, with the assistance of his 
friend and colleague, completed the working model of an atmospheric 
eno-ine in 1711. The main principle adopted by them was that of 
Monsieur Papin— making the weight of the atmosphere the moving 
power, and using steam merely to exhaust the receiver. They also 
used Savery's method of condensation, by pouring cold water over the 
external surface of the cylinder ; but this method they soon abandoned 
for the more economical and convenient plan of Desaguliers, which, 
with a little modification, is still in use. Newcomen and Galley, being 
persons of little erudition, are said to have been totally unacquainted 
with the experiments of De Cans, Worcester, Papin, kc, but arrived 
at the same conclusions by the force of their own unassisted ingenuity. 
They were indebte'd to an accident for the discovery of the improved 
mode of condensing the steam by the injection of cold water into the 
cylinder. Newcoraen's engine possessed several decided advantages 
over that of Savery. The latter was practically useful only so ftir as 
it could be made to do the service of a sucking-pump, and it ceased to 
be serviceable in raising water, when the column raised became equal 
in weight to a column of the atmosphere of equal base. It was almost 
unavailable, therefore, for the purpose of pumping water from mi/ies — 
the use for which such engines were chiefly in demand at that time. 
The superiority of Newcomen's engine in this particular was most 
remarkable. Many mines which had been inundated for years were, 
by the help of this invention, cleared of water, and preserved in that 
condition until the excavations were carried to unprecedented depths. 
For many other important purposes, this new apparatus was found to be 
eminently serviceable. But how obviously defective was the construc^^n 
of this engine ! How unsatisfactory were its operations, when we place 
it in the scale of comparison with the perfect machine of our own day ! 
As, in the process used, the cylinder was completely cooled after every 
Btroke of the piston, the waste of fuel was so great, that Newcomen's 
engine could not be economically employed in circumstances which 
permitted the use of animal power ; and besides this, its operation was 



14 • STEAM. 

slow, distressingly slow. Moreover, as the machine derived all its 
energy from the weight of the atmosphere, its force was necessarily 
limited to fifteen pounds on each square inch of the superior surface of 
the piston, making no allowance for friction, or the imperfection of the 
vacuum beneath ; circumstances which must make a very considerable 
reduction in our estimate of its power. 

It should be borne in mind, that the expansive force of steam was not 
used in this engine, and that all the uses which steam performed in the 
movements of the apparatus could have been executed by an air-pump, 
or any other agency capable of expelling or withdrawing the atmospheric 
fluid from beneath the piston. Up to this time, therefore, it may 
appear that the plan of a genuine steam-engine, i. e., one in which 
steam power was indispensable, had never presented itself to any human 
being. And for more than fifty years afterwards no progress was 
made in the adaptation of steam to the purpose of giving motion to 
machinery. It is true that various minor improvements were made on 
Newcomen's apparatus, but the main principle continued the same — the 
power of steam being made subordinate to the weight of the atmosphere. 
Mr. Brighton, in 1718, so far improved on Newcomen's plan as to 
make the machinery itself open and shut the cocks which supplied the 
apparatus with steam and water, instead of having those services per- 
formed by an attendant. 

The cause of steam was in this condition, when (a. d. 1736) the 
attention of James Watt, a native of Greenock, Scotland, was attracted 
to the subject. Mr. Watt was born of parents whose condition in life 
was respectable, though not opulent. The condition of his bodily 
health was so feeble as to prevent him from pursuing his early 
studies with regularity at the public seminaries, but such was his thirst 
for knowledge, that no obstacle could prevent him from obtaining such 
education as accorded with the direction of his genius. Even in his 
childhood his favorite study was mechanical science, and to this study 
he applied himself, at home, with the utmost assiduity. At a very 
early age his attention was attracted to ijie employment of steam as 
an operative power in machinery ; his first thought, in connection with 
thin subject, being turned towards the propulsion of land carriages by 
steam power. 

In the winter of 1763 a small model of Newcomen's engine came 
into his possession ; and by studying the operations of this machine, 
he first conceived the fortunate idea that the steam might be made to 
perform a more important duty than Newcomen and his predecessors 
had ever thought of. The defects of Newcomen's engine were mani- 



STEAM. 15 

festly presented to his observing genius. The disproportionate size of 
the boiler, and other errors in the construction of the model, were 
corrected by Watt, who also substituted a cylinder of cast iron for that 
of brass, which had been used by Newcomen ; for he observed that the 
brazen cylinder abstracted more of the heat from the steam, and so 
lessened its expansion, occasioning thereby a proportionable loss of 
power. But his thoughts were soon turned aside from the correction 
of Newcomen's minor mistakes, to the rectification of the primary error 
which had made all the engines constructed on the atmospheric prin- 
ciple comparatively inefficient. In short, Mr, Watt recognized the 
great advantage which might be gained by advancing steam from its 
subservient position to that of a principal agent. This idea he followed 
up with the most indefatigable application, trying innumerable experi- 
ments for the purpose of ascertaining all the powers and properties of 
the agency which he proposed to use. The results of some of these 
experiments were of great consequence in his future researches. For 
example, he found that the rapidity with which water evaporates, 
depends simply on the quantity of heat which is made to enter it, and 
that this quantity of heat was proportioned to the extent of surface 
exposed to the fire. He also ascertained the amount of fuel required 
for the evaporation of any given quantity of water, the heat at which 
water boils under various pressures, and many other particulars which 
had never been taken into consideration by any previous observer. 

Having thus made himself thoroughly acquainted with the agent, he 
was eminently prepared to control or direct its action to the best 
advantage. In the first place, he remarked that the inartificial methods 
adopted by his predecessors for cooling the cylinder, occasioned a waste 
of at least three-fourths of the fuel. If the cylinder could be kept per- 
manently hot, this waste, and much loss of time, could be avoided. 
After mature reflection, during which many expedients were thought 
of and rejected, he began to consider the possibility of withdrawing the 
steam from the cylinder to be condensed in some other vessel. If 
this course should be practicable, the separate vessel alone, i. c, 
the " condenser," would be cooled by the water used to cool the 
steam ; and it appeared to him, as experiment afterwards proved, that 
the cooling of the condenser would quicken the process of condensation 
rather than retard it. The benefits of these alterations were soon made 
obvious to every perception. By keeping the cylinder constantly at 
the same temperature, one- fourth part of the fuel formerly used was 
found to be quite sufficient ; and besides this important item, the saving 
of expense in the maintenance of the engine, much power was gained 



16 STEAM. ' A 

by the production of a more perfect vacuum in the cylinder, in which 
no water was noAV admitted to generate new steam, while it expelled 
the old. Watt's first expedient to cool the steam in the condenser was 
keeping that vessel enclosed in another of cold water ; preferring this 
method to the admission of cold water into the condenser itself, as its 
accumulation there might occasion a difiiculty in removing it as rapidly 
as was necessary. But with a view to the attainment of greater speed 
in the movement of the machinery, he found eventually that the best 
contrivance was to admit a sufficient quantity of water into the con- 
denser, and remove it afterwards by a pump of suitable power. 

Several other difficulties, some of which, at the first view, appeared 
quite formidable, were finally overcome by the perseverance and 
ingenuity of this distinguished inventor. His pecuniary resources were 
enlarged by a contract made with Dr. Roebuck, who advanced the 
funds required for prosecuting Mr. Watt's experiments, for the con- 
sideration of two-thirds of the profits, to be secured to him in case 
the new machine should come into successful operation. In these cir- 
cumstances, Mr. Watt took out his first patent in 1769 ; but his col- 
league. Dr. Roebuck, having, as the phrase goes, " too many irons in 
the fire," soon became involved in pecuniary embarrassments, and was 
unable to fulfil his part of the contract by advancing the stipulated 
sums. Owing to this unfortunate state of affairs, Mr. Watt was com- 
pelled, for the term of five years, to engage in the business of a Civil 
Engineer ; but, at length, (a. d. 1774,) having formed a business con- 
nection with an extensive hardware manufacturer at Birmingham, he 
was enabled once more to revert to his favorite pursuit. The first 
measure adopted by Mr. Watt and his partner was to erect an engine 
in their manufactory at Soho, which they submitted to public inspec- 
tion ; and soon after the firm of Boulton & Watt commenced the manu- 
facture of steam-engines as a regular business. 

Respecting the first application of steam to the propulsion of vessels, 
a variety of facts will be detailed in our sketches of the lives of John 
Fitch and Robert Fulton. 



JOHN FITCH. 



Before we begin our biographical sketch of this ingenious but very 
unfortunate man, it may not be out of place to give some account of 
the state of human knowledge in reference to steam navigation at the 
time when Fitch commenced his experiments. It was said, in the pre- 
ceding article, that Mr. Watt's first intention in the employment of 
steam power, was the impelling of land carriages. From such a pro- 
ject a man's thoughts might, by a very easy transition, turn to the pro- 
pulsion of vessels by the same agency. This application of steam was 
too obvious, we might suppose, to escape the attention of any man who 
had seen a steam-engine in operation. We dare say, therefore, that 
from the time the first engine was erected at Soho, it was very common 
for men of mechanical genius to imagine the probability that the new 
invention might become serviceable to navigation. In 1737, more than 
thirty years before Mr. Watt took out his first patent, a certain Jona- 
than Hulls, of London, claimed to be the inventor of " a machine for 
carrying vessels out of, or into, any harbor, port or river against wind 
and tide, or in a calm." A draught of this machine is still preserved, 
and wo must aver that it looks surprisingly like an old fashioned steam- 
boat, being furnished with chimneys, propelling wheels, and other cus- 
tomary appurtenances. We have no account of the mode in which 
Mr. Jonathan Hulls generated his moving forces, but it is evident, from 
the smoking chimney and other significant indications, that fire had 
something to do with the matter. Hulls obtained letters patent for 
this invention from George II., but it is presumed that want of funds, 
or some other fatal obstacle, prevented him from bringing his project 
to a practical result, as we have no further account either of Mr. Jona- 
than Hulls, or his marvellous invention. And although we find several 
allusions to the practicability of steam navigation, not forgetting the 
celebrated couplet of Dr. Darwin — * 



" Soon shall thy arm, unconquered steam, afar 
Drive the swift barge or urge the rapid car"— 



(17) 



18 



JOHN FITCH. 



yet practical men were content to leave the whole subject in the dominion 
of poetry and romance, until an obscure native of Connecticut, with the 
homely name of John Fitch, undertook to realize what had hitherto 
been considered one of the most extravagant dreams of fancy. 




JOHN PITCH. 



Fitch, with a stroke of melancholy sarcasm, terms it the greatest 
misfortune of his life, " to have conceived the idea that a vessel might 
be carried through the water by the force of steam." Nevertheless, it 
appears from the manuscript records of his life, which he deposited in 
the Philadelphia Museum, that he was familiar with the aspect of mis- 
fortune from his very birth. He was born near East Windsor, Con- 
necticut, in the year 1743, on the 21st of January, old style. His 
father, who was a farmer in good circumstances, appears to have been 
a person of a sordid and morose temper ; and the best report his 
son can make of him is, that he always provided a sufficiency of pork, 
beans, codfish and potatoes for the use of his family. We should have 
been better pleased with him if he had furnished his son John with the 
usual facilities for the acquirement of useful knowledge. He appeared 
to think it quite sufficient for every useful purpose if the lad learned 
to read the Bible, and to give correct answers to all the questions in 
the catechism. 

With such a parent as is here described, what difficulties and dis- 
couragements must have been encountered by a mind hungering and 
thirsting after knowledge ! But, even at that early day, John's resolute 
spirit of inquiry was invincible. He obtained an old copy of Hodder'a 
Arithmetic, and in the hours of relaxation from the labours of the 



JOHNFITCn. 19 

farm, succeeded, "W'ithoiit assistance, in mastering all the dilficulties of 
that elementary work. At this time he had not completed his eighth 
year. Some time after, when his fiither had repeatedly refused to 
supply him with a copy of Salmon's Geography, he contrived to earn 
the money required to buy one, by devoting the little time allowed him for 
recreation to the cultivation of a small potato-patch on a piece of un- 
occupied ground. By dint of such untiring exertion, young Fitch, in 
spite of all the disadvantages of his situation, contrived to obtain a 
moderate English education before he reached the years of maturity. 
In devising a mode of maintenance for his future life, he made an ex- 
perimental sea voyage at the age of seventeen, but his tastes and 
habits did not much incline that way ; and, soon after his return, he 
applied himself to learning the trade of clock making, having always 
had a predilection for machinery. The master artist who undertook to 
instruct Fitch in this branch of manufacture, kept him employed in 
domestic duties, such as rocking the cradle and attending to the cook- 
ery, by which occupations his knowledge of horology was not much 
advanced ; and at the end of two years he left his instructor, very much 
dissatisfied with his acquirements. But there were other wooden clock 
makers in Connecticut, even at that early period, and John Fitch soon 
found one who did not connect the operations of the business with cook- 
ing and cradle rocking. On the contrary, this new employer resolved 
that his apprentice should learn clock making and nothing else, although 
a part of the business of the shop was the repairing of watches, with 
which process likewise John desired to become acquainted. ]\Iatters 
were so conducted that he was never permitted to see a watch taken to 
pieces or put together. But this churlish treatment was not the only 
inconvenience he was doomed to suffer ; for, as he tells us in his manu- 
script narrative, although he possessed but a moderate appetite, he was 
never permitted to satisfy it except on one occasion, when, by nice 
management, he contrived to make " a good hearty meal on potatoes." 
The reader will believe that John was not tempted to remain for an 
unreasonable length of time under the jurisdiction of this Connecticut 
clock-maker ; in fact, he soon thought it most expedient to set up busi- 
ness for himself, and within the space of two years he managed to ac- 
cumulate the sum of fifty pounds, " which to me, at that time, (says 
John,) appeared to be an inexhaustible treasure." It was soon exhausted, 
however, and his patience likewise, for having injudiciously married a 
young lady of acid disposition, named jMiss Lucy Roberts, she " led him 
such a life," (to borrow the phraseology of John's manuscript,) that he 
was obliged to "withdraw precipitately from his domestic altar, and take 



20 JOHN FITCH. 

refuge in the village of Pittsfield, Massachuaetts. Not meeting with 
any encouragement there, he removed to Albany, N. Y., and from thence 
again he wandered into New Jersey, where, becoming reduced in cir- 
cumstances to a very low level, he performed the services of a day- 
laborer on a farm. His feeble bodily condition unfitted him for this 
duty, and he finally established himself at Trenton in the useful and 
respectable, though not very lucrative business of button-making. 

When the Revolution commenced. Fitch, of course, ranged himself 
on the side of patriotism, and rendered most acceptable service to his 
country by repairing arms for the continental troops. While the war 
was in progress, duty carried him to the West, where he was taken 
prisoner by the Indians, and remained in captivity for several months, 
enduring many hardships, but finally managed to make his escape. 
At the end of the war he returned to New Jersey. 

It was about this time, (April, 1785,) when his thoughts were first 
directed to the subject of steam conveyance ; and he seems to have 
afterwards considered it highly presumptuous for a man as poor as him- 
self to engage in such a stupendous project. " If I had not the most 
convincing proofs to the contrary, (says he,) I should certainly charge 
myself with being non convpos mentis at the time." He likewise assures 
us in his manuscript autobiography, that when he first conceived the 
idea of employing steam power for propelling vessels, he did not know 
that such a thing as a steam-engine existed, although Mr. Watt had 
erected one in England ten years before. Fitch believed the idea to 
be original with himself, until his brother-in-law one day showed him 
a drawing and description of the machine invented by Watt. He was 
" amazingly chagrined," as he tells us, to find that his grand discovery 
had been anticipated ; but he comforted himself with the reflection, 
that if steam could be made to turn a wheel on the land, there was 
nothing to prevent it from becoming equally useful on the water. In 
short, he was more than ever convinced that his plan of navigation by 
steam was altogether practicable. 

It is shown by the most irrefragable testimony that John Fitch was 
the first man, in America at least, and probably in the world, who ever 
carried this idea of applying steam power to the propulsion of vessels 
to any determinate result. A certificate from Dr. Thornton of the 
Patent Office at Washington, states that Fitch took out a patent for 
the application of steam to navigation, in the year 1788, before which 
time no similar patent had been issued in this country. The earliest 
ascertained experiments of Mr. Fulton in steam navigation took place 
about the year 1708, ten years after the date of John Fitch's patent. 



JOHN FITCH. 



21 



Oliver'Evans In 1804 propelled a mud-scow by steam on the Schuylkill 
river. Mr. Fulton's first experimental boat was built at Paris, in 1803. 
His first American steamboat was launched in the spring of 1807. 
Fitch brought his plan to the test of experiment on the Delaware river 
a short time after he took out his patent. The following description 
is given of the machinery as contrived by Fitch : — " The cylinder is 
horizontal, the steam working with equal force at both ends. The 
piston moves about three feet, and each vibration of it gives the axis 
forty revolutions. Each revolution of the axis moves twelve oars or 
paddles five and a half feet ; they work perpendicularly and are repre- 
sented by the strokes of a paddle of a canoe. As six of the paddles 
are raised from the water, six more are entered, and the two sets of 
paddles make their strokes of about eleven feet in each revolution. 
The crank of the axis acts upon the paddles about one-third of their 
length from the lower ends, to which part of the oar the whole force of 
the axis is applied. The engine is placed in the bottom of the boat, 
about one-third from the stern, and both the action and reaction turn 
the wheel the same way." 






^-^ />// In,, .. >. 




fitch's PHILADELPHIA BOA T — 1 7 8 6 



This description was written by the inventor himself, and was first 
published in the Philadelphia Columbian Magazine, vol. 1, for Decem- 
ber, 1786. 

Fitch's boat was tried, as previously stated, on the Delaware river, in 
front of Philadelphia. The boat was ordered under way at slack water, 
and, by the most accurate measurement, was found to go at the rate of 
eight miles per hour, or one mile in six minutes and a lialf. It after- 
wards went eighty miles in a day. 



22 JOHN FITCH. 

The Governor and Council of Pennsylvania expressed their satisfac- 
tion with the result of this experiment by presenting to the proprietors 
of the boat a superb silk flag, emblazoned with the arms of the State. 
But, after all this magnificent demonstration, the most glorious achieve- 
ment of American ingenuity was permitted to fall into utter neglect. 

Dr. Thornton states that the company which had been formed under 
the Fitch patents to give the plan a proper trial — now, when the trial 
had been made, and when all reasonable doubts respecting the practica- 
bility and utility of the invention should have vanished — refused to ad- 
vance any more money. It seems that those noble spirited gentlemen, 
who constituted the first steamboat company ever organized, disbanded 
themselves because they were afraid to meet the " unceasing ridicule" 
which this project had excited. Not even tli3 practical realization of 
the plan could prevent fools from laughing at it as an insane specula- 
tion ; nor could the sight of a veritable steamboat, paddling along the 
DelaAvare, enable wise men to treat this idiotic merriment with con- 
tempt. The company was dissolved, the boat was laid up in the docks, 
and the whole matter was abandoned, and John Fitch was fated to 
descend to the tomb without seeing the great object of his life accom- 
plished, or the importance and value of his invention duly appreciated 
by his countrymen. 

Justice to the memory of John Fitch forbids the omission of one par- 
ticular incident of his life, which establishes, beyond all cavil, his claim 
to the invention of the steamboat. Before the dissolution of the com- 
pany just referred to, Aaron Vail, Esq., one of the members who w^as 
then the American consul at L' Orient, sent over a request for Mr. 
Fitch to visit France, in order to have the steamboat experiment tried 
in that country. Fitch went over, accordingly, but on his arrival, 
owing to a scarcity of shipwrights, and other causes incident to the 
French revolution, the enterprise failed, and Fitch returned to his own 
country, leaving his draughts and documents relating to his invention 
in the hands of Mr. Vail. These papers were exhibited by Mr. Vail 
to Robert Fulton, when that gentleman visited France several years 
afterwards, and Mr. Fulton took coj^ies, notes and memoranda which 
enabled him subsequently (he being more fortunate than John Fitch in 
finding assistance and resources) to complete the great work of which 
so considerable a part had already been executed by the ill-starred Fitch. 

To the very end of his life John Fitch had unwavering confidence 
in his neglected and despised contrivance. He struggled manfully to 
bring it once more into the scope of public observation, but the public, 



JOHN FITCn. 



23 



O cw 






S5 2 



B "S, 

S i 

en Db 

< 3 




18 ^ 



> 







24 JOHN FITCH. 

when it had kindness enough to refrain from mockery, merely made an 
exclamation of sorrow and pity, like that of Ophelia — 

" Oh, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown !" 

Once, when he had been explaining the benefits of steam navigation 
to a party of gentleman, who heard his glowing descriptions with signifi- 
cant smiles, one of his auditors remarked, after he had retired, " What 
a pity that the poor fellow is crazy !" 

When the experimental boat had been finally laid up, as aforesaid, 
Fitch, in a letter to Mr. Rittenhouse, wrote, " It would be much easier 
to carry a first-rate man-of-war by steam than a boat, as we would not 
be cramped for room, nor would the weight of the machinery be felt. 
This, Sir, will be the mode of crossing the Atlantic in time, (there spoke 
a true prophet !) whether I bring it to perfection or not." 

Fitch returned from Europe to his own country, destitute and heart- 
broken. For two years he was obliged to depend for his daily bread on 
the kindness of a relation, Colonel George King, of Sharon, Connecti- 
cut. But having purchased some cheap lands in Kentucky, while he 
was surveying there in 1796, he now went thither to take possession of 
this little property in the wilderness. But even this gratification 
was not allowed him, for having been thrown into a fever by fatigue 
and exposure, he died two or three days after his arrival. According 
to his request, John Fitch was buried on the shores of the Ohio, where, 
(to use his own enthusiastic language,) " the song of the boa.tmen would 
enliven the stillness of his resting-place, and the music of the steam- 
engine sooth his spirit." His manuscript journal contains the following 
prophetic exclamation : 

" The day will come when some more powerful man will get fame and 
riches from my invention, but nobody will believe that poor John Fitch 
can do any thing worthy of attention !" 

The fate of this man is a melancholy exemplification of the treatment 
which the world often accords to its best benefactors. Further comment 
is not required. 

" We can no more, — by rage, by shame suppress'd, 
Let tears and burning blushes speak the rest." 



ROBERT FULTON. 



TVniLE we accord to John Fitch the credit which is justly due to him 
as the true and original contriver of the steamboat, with equal justice 
we will make the acknowledgment, that the subject of the present 
sketch, by his firmness of purpose and energy of character, no less than 
by his brilliant genius and correct judgment, carried the enterprise 
through to a successful and glorious termination. Robert Fulton was 
born in the town of Little Britain, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 
(a. d. 1765). His father, a native of Kilkenny, Ireland, was in very 
moderate circumstances, which may explain the fact that Robert's 
early education was somewhat neglected. His earliest tastes inclined 
him to observe the operations of difi"erent mechanics, in whose shops he 
passed most of his leisure hours. Having a natural talent for the use 
of the pencil, he began, at the age of twelve years, to cultivate this gift, 
and before he had reached his fifteenth year, he became, in the estima- 
tion of his rural neighbors, quite an expert artist. Two years later he 
practised portrait and landscape painting in Philadelphia. Here he 
soon acquired money enough to purchase a small farm in Washington 
County, where he provided his widowed mother with a comfortable 
home, while he made preparations for a voyage to England, according 
to the advice of some of his friends, for the purpose of exhibiting some 
of his paintings to his countryman, Benjamin West. Mr. West, at 
this time, enjoyed the favor and patronage of the British government, 
and his reputation as one of the first painters of the age was already 
established. He received young Fulton with much kindness, gave 
him all possible encouragement, and ofiered him a home in his own 
house, where he remained for two years. At the end of that time Mr. 
Fulton travelled through different parts of England, and became 
acquainted with several distinguished men of science. 

It is supposed that, at this period of his life, he began to devote his 
attention exclusively to mechanical inventions. In his 25th year, 
(a. d. 1793,) he was actively engaged in a project to improve inland 

(26) 



26 ROBERT FULTON. 




EOBERT FULTON. 



navigation, and one year later he obtained from the British govern- 
ment a patent for a double inclined plane, to be used for transportation. 
We have no particular accoUnt of his transactions during several years 
following, though in 1794 he submitted to the British Society for the 
promotion of Arts and Commerce, an improvement in his invention of 
mills for sawing marble. His patents for two machines, one for spinning 
flax, and the other for making ropes, are dated 1795. In the next 
year he published at London his treatise on the Improvement of Canal 
Navigation. In this work he expresses his preference for small canals, 
and boats of light burden, and contends for the use of inclined planes 
instead of locks. His plans were highly approved by the British Board 
of Agriculture. 

Mr. Fulton was now engaged in the profession of a civil engineer, 
and employed the pencil merely to execute plans and draughts of 
machinery in connection with his professional duties. He now visited 
France, for the purpose of introducing his canaj improvements into 
that country. In the year 1707, he became acquainted Avith the cele- 
brated Joel Barlow, who then resided at Paris. In the family of this 
distinguished American gentleman, Mr. Fulton took up his abode for 
several years, during which time he studied the French, Italian and 
German languages, and perfected himself in the high mathematics, 
chemistry and natural philosophy. 



ROBERTFULTON. 27 

In 1797 Messrs. Fulton and Barlow made experiments on the river 
Seine with a machine which the former had constructed on the torpedo 
principle, the object of which was to destroy an enemy's ships by sub- 
marine explosions. These experiments proved unsuccessful. But not 
at all discouraged by his first failure, Mr. Fulton pursued this object 
until his plan for propelling and steering a boat under water was 
brought to perfection. When this satisfactory result was attained, he 
applied to the French Directory for pecuniary assistance, but that body 
did not appreciate the invention. He then applied to the British 
government, but met with similar discouragement in that quarter. In 
the meantime, Buonaparte had placed himself at the head of public 
aifairs in France, and he, not being one of the " old fogy" school, 
promptly responded to Mr. Fulton's application by appointing a com- 
mission to examine the new warlike machine. The examining committee 
having made a favorable report, Mr. Fulton was supplied by Napoleon 
with a sufficiency of funds to bring some of his plans to the test of ex- 
periment. He first made a trial of the " plunging boat" at Brest, in 
1801. Notwithstanding many imperfections in the machinery, and 
other disadvantages incident to a first experiment, he demonstrated 
that, by means of this contrivance, a sufficiency of light and air could 
be obtained under water ; that the boat could be made to descend to 
any depth, or rise to the surface with perfect facility, and that she 
would tack or veer as rapidly as any common sailing-boat. On the 
7th of August, Mr. Fulton descended with a store of air compressed in 
a copper globe, and was thus enabled to remain under water nearly 
four hours and a half. lie next attempted to put this invention to its 
proper use by blowing up English vessels cruising near the harbor of 
Brest ; for this purpose he provided his plunging boat with a torpedo, 
or submarine bomb, and approaching a small British vessel within the 
distance of two hundred yards, he blew her to atoms. A similar at- 
tempt was made on an English seventy-four, which saved herself at the 
critical moment by an accidental change of position. 

The advantages of submarine warfare were not fairly estimated in 
Europe, and Mr. Fulton, having become disgusted with the tardy action 
of several European governments in relation to this subject, returned 
to his own country, in 1806. He found the American government very 
propitious to his undertakings, and a grant of sufficient funds was made 
to enable liim to put the capabilities of his torpedo to a fair trial. By 
means of one of these jewels of Bellona, he blew up, and totally unni- 
hilated, a large hulk brig, which had been prepared for the purpose in 
the harbor of New York. In 1810 Congress granted ^5000 to meet 



28 ROBERTFULTON. 

the expenses of additional experiments with Fulton's explosive appara™ 
tus, and a committee was appointed to superintend these trials. The 
old sloop-of-war Argus, under the direction of Commodore Rogers, was 
prepared for defence against the torpedoes, and that skilful Commander 
did his best to make them ineffective. In these circumstances, Mr. 
Fulton did not succeed in his main design of bloAving up the vessel, but 
he approached in his submarine boat near enough to cut off a fourteen 
inch cable attached to the Argus. He himself did not consider this 
experiment on the Argus a failure, attributing his want of success to 
various defects in the explosive machinery, for which it was easy to find 
remedies. 

But the thoughts of Fulton now reverted to the subject of steam 
navigation, a subject on which he had bestowed considerable study 
during his residence in Paris. In this enterprise he possessed one 
grand advantage over all who had preceded him, being enabled to avail 
himself of the great improvements which Watt and others had made in 
steam machinery. But for certain adaptations of that machinery to 
the object required, he was obliged to depend on his own inventive 
powers, in the absence of all precedent to direct his course. The paddle- 
wheel now used in steamboats appears to have been originally devised 
by Mr. Fulton. It should have been mentioned, by the way, that 
Messrs. Fulton and Livingston made an actual experiment with steam 
propulsion in France, in 1803. This experiment, however, was on a 
very small scale, and the result being not quite satisfactory, and as other 
objects demanded Mr. Fulton's attention, this project was temporarily 
laid aside, nor was it resumed until some time after his return to this 
country. 

Mr. Fulton took out his first patent for improvements in steam navi- 
gation on the 11th day of February, 1809, and on the 9th of February, 
1811, he obtained supplementary patents for further improvements in 
his boats and machinery. The pecuniary means required for carrying 
out these great designs were supplied by Mr. Livingston, a gentleman 
of great wealth and equal liberality, who had assisted Mr. Fulton in 
his steamboat experiments at Paris, and never at any time withheld his 
aid when the enterprise required it. The legislature of New York liaving 
passed an Act which secured to Messrs. Fulton and Livingston the 
exclusive benefits of steam navigation on the waters of that State for 
the term of twenty years, the last-named gentleman caused a boat of 
about thirty tons to be built, but her dimensions being found insufficient, 
she was soon abandoned. In 1807 a steam-engine was ordered from 
the manufactory of Watt and Bolton, of Birmington, England ; it was 



ROBERT FULTON. 



29 



constructed according to the specifications furnished by Mr. Fulton, 
■who did not permit the manufacturers to know for what purpose it was 
intended. A suitable boat for the reception of this engine had been 
built at the ship-yard of Charles Brown, on the East river. The engine 
was put on board, and the boat was soon after moved by her machinery 
to the Jersey shore. This experimental trip was witnessed by a number 
of the principal citizens, including several men of science, whom Messrs. 
Fulton and Livingston had invited to be present on the occasion. 

At this time it is difficult to believe that a great majority of the 
people of that day had no faith in this undertaking. The common 
belief was that the boat could not be made to move a foot from the 
wharf, and the crowd of spectators now assembled to behold the result 
very freely indulged in sarcastic remarks, aimed at what they were 
pleased to call the folly or insanity of the projectors. When, therefore, 
the boat actually left the shore, and began to plough her way tlirough 
the still waters, the multitude for awhile stood gazing in mute astonish- 
ment, mingled with awe, at what they considered a miracle of art. But 




C L E K M N T — 1 8 7. 



when the boat, having reached the centre of the river, turned her head 
down the stream, and began to rush forward with increased velocity, 
the whole concourse, as if moved by one spirit, uttered a deafening and 
prolonged shout of applause and congratulation. Who can imagine the 
feelings of Robert Fulton at that moment ? The day of recompense 
had arrived ; his toils, travels, severe studies and frequent disappoint- 
ments were unrequited no longer. He knew then that he had achieved 
a triumph which the world would acknowledge in all time to come. 
Here then, for once, a public benefactor received while living the 



30 ROBERT FULTON. 

homage which his genius and his services to the cause of human pro- 
gress had deserved. 

This first boat, whose performance so electrified the spectators, was 
called the Clermont. When some errors in the construction of the 
machinery had been corrected, she made a trial trip to Albany, and 
performed that voyage of one hundred and fifty miles in about thirty 
hours against the wind. Soon after, the Clermont became a regular 
passage boat between New York and Albany. Certain Quixotic per- 
sons conceived about these times that "pendulum power" might be 
made to rival steam as a propelling force, and a boat was actually 
built on that principle. As many had foreseen, however, the momentum 
of the pendulum could not overcome the resistance of the water, and 
this boat remained as stationary as the dock itself. 

The exclusive right to steam navigation on the rivers of New York, 
which the legislature had granted to Livingston and Fulton, was not 
duly respected, for several opposition boats were soon started. These 
were slightly varied from Fulton's mode of construction, in order to 
avoid an obvious infringement on his patent. Fulton and Livingston 
attempted to assert their rights by recourse to the law, and applied to 
the Circuit Court of the United States for an injunction ; but this 
Court decided that it had no jurisdiction in the case. The application 
was renewed in the Chancery of the State, but after hearing the argu- 
ment, the chancellor refused to grant an injunction. The Supreme 
Court, however, reversed the chancellor's decision, and ordered a per- 
petual injunction on the opposition boats. 

In the year 1812, two steam ferry boats for crossing the Hudson 
river, and one for the East river, were built under Mr. Fulton's direc- 
tions. Thenceforth steamboats began to increase and multiply, and 
improvements were gradually introduced by Mr. Fulton up to the time 
of his death. It has been remarked, in commendation of his progressive 
skill and judgment, that the last boat built by him was always the 
best, the swiftest, and most convenient. 

About the beginning of the last war with England, Mr. Fulton ex- 
hibited to a committee of citizens of New York the model of a steam 
man-of-war, provided with a strong battery, furnaces for red hot shot, 
&c. Several distinguished naval commanders had already pointed out 
the advantages which must result from the employment of steam in pro- 
pelling war vessels, and Mr. Fulton's plan was so well received, that in 
the spring of 1814 Congress passed a law authorizing the President to 
cause to be built, equipped and employed one or more floating batteries, 
for the defence of the ports and waters of the United States. In con- 



I 



ROBERT FULTON. 31 

formity with this law, the steam frigate Fulton the First, was built at 
New York, and on the 4th of July, 1815, she made her first trip to the 
ocean and back, a distance of fifty-three miles, in eight hours and 
twenty minutes. Henry Rutgers, Samuel L. Mitchell, Thomas Mor- 
ris, and Oliver Walcott, Esqs., commissioners of the navy, were present. 
Mr. Stoudinger, successor to Robert Fulton, was the engineer. 

Before this vessel was completed, Robert Fulton had ceased to exist. 
While superintending the works on board of the steam frigate, he ex- 
posed himself too long on deck, on a wet and stormy day ; an attack of 
pleurisy followed, which terminated his valuable life on the 24th day 
of February, 1815. Mr. Fulton was married,' in the year 1806, 
to Miss Harriet Livingston, a relative of chancellor Livingston, his 
friend and associate in the steam navigation enterprise. He left four 
children, one son, Robert Barlow Fulton, and three daughters. In 
another department of this work we shall have occasion to speak of the 
part Mr. Fulton took in the establishment of steam navigation on the 
western waters. 



GLIMPSES OF Ex\RLY LIFE ON THE WESTERN WATERS. 



All who are infected with that prevailing taste for romantic horrors, 
which distinguishes the fictitious literature of our day, may employ 
themselves agreeably in examining the records of early life on the 
western rivers. The most extravagant fiction which the morbidly ex- 
cited imagination of a modern novellist has produced, could scarcely fur- 
nish parallels for the veritable exploits and wild adventures of some of 
those daring and reckless men who navigated the Ohio and Mississippi 
before the era of steamboat travel had commenced. The life of these 
primitive navigators so abounded with labors and perils, that the occupa- 
tion of an ancient knight-errant might be called safe and delightful, by 
way of comparison. The dangers and embarrassments encountered by 
Tasso's hero in the enchanted forest, will appear in description to be quite 
insignificant when we compare them with the daily experience of the Mis- 
sissippi or Ohio boatman, who flourished some forty or fifty years ago. 

Before the panting of the steam-engine was heard on these waters, 
the only river conveyance for freight and passengers was a species of 
boat called a barge, or bargee, according to the French nomenclature. 
The length of this boat was from 75 to 100 feet ; breadth of beam from 
15 to 20 feet ; capacity, from 60 to 100 tons. The receptacle for the 
freight was a large covered coffer, called the cargo-box, which occupied 
a considerable portion of the hulk. Near the stern was an apology for 
a cabin ; a straightened apartment six or eight feet in length, in which 
the aristocracy of the boat, viz : the captain and patroon, or steersman, 
were generally quartered at night. The roof of the " cabin" was slightly 
elevated above the level of the deck, and on this eminence the helmsman 
was stationed to direct the movements of the boat. The barge was 
commonly provided with two masts, though some carried but one. The 
chief reliance of the boatmen was on, a large square sail forward, which, 
when the wind was in the right direction, accelerated the progressive 
motion of the boat, and relieved the hands, who at other times were 
obliged t^ propel the barge by such laborious methods as we are about 
(32) 



THE WESTERN WATERS. 



33 



to describe. But before we exhibit the process used in navigating these 
rivers at that period, the reader should be made acquainted with the 
peculiarities of the rivers themselves. 




EAKLY NAVIGATION ON THE WESTERN WATERS. 

The Mississippi, in particular, is celebrated for its turbulence and 
impetuosity, and truly it deserves its reputation, for its violent demeanor 
is such that its own shores are unable to control it. It scorns the limi- 
tations to which other rivers are subject ; and, sometimes, in its capri- 
cious fury, it sweeps away fields or forests, or any other obstacle to its 
headlong course. Sometimes, indeed, it succeeds in obstructing its own 
progress with a conglomerated mass of earth and trees carried down by 
its current, and then an inundation of the neighboring country is the 
usual result. 

From this description it may appear that the navigation of such a 
stream by the methods formerly in use was no holiday amusement ; 
especially when it became necessary to stem the torrent in ascending 
the river. '■^ Facilis est descensus" — to go doivn — in this use, as on 
many other occasions, was comparatively light labour, but to return, 
that, as Virgil remarks, in reference to another subject, was the grand 
difficulty. This was a service which required men of iron frame and 
undaunted resolution. Several different modes of propelling the barges 
were used by hardy boatmen. The work required about fifty men to 
each boat. At times, all these " hands" were employed in rowing ; 
which, however, against such a stream as that of the Mississippi, was 
generally a great waste of labor to very little purpose. When circum- 
stances permitted, the navigators resorted to the use of the cordelh. 
This was a stout rope or hawser, one end of which was attached to the 
bows or foremast of the barge, and the other extremity carried along the 



C4 GLIMPSESOFEARLTLIFE 

shore or beach on the shoulders of the whole boat's crew, who thus per- 
formed the same duty that a horse does when towing a boat on a 
modern canal. It very often happened that this mode of progression 
was unavailable, as when the shores offered no convenient tow-path, or 
were obstructed by trees. In these circumstances, the "warping" pro- 
cess was adopted. The yawl was sent out with a coil of rope, which 
was fastened to a tree on shore, or a "snag" in the river, and while 
the hands on board were pulling up to this point, another coil was sent 
out to be fastened to some object farther ahead, and so the warping 
process was repeated. Again, it was expedient, at times, to use the 
setting poles, one end of which being set in the bed of the river, a suf- 
ficient purchase was obtained to enable the men to push forward the 
boat with their shoulders. This latter mode of propulsion was used 
chiefly on the Ohio ; the bottom of the Mississippi was too yielding and 
the current generally was too rapid and powerful to make the use of 
the poles eligible in that river. By these changes from towing to 
warping, from warping to poling, and from poling to rowing, we are in- 
formed that the crews of the boats were " rested and refreshed ;" and 
as "variety is the spice of life," it is presumed that they found their 
diversified labours altogether agreeable. By the way, it may puzzle 
some of our indolent cotemporaries to guess how men could be found 
who were willing to engage in this toilsome occupation, while any other 
possible means of subsistence were within their reach. Well says the 
proverb, that "there is no accounting for tastes ;" but apart from this 
consideration, it may be observed that the life of a western boatman 
was not without its pleasures and enjoyments, as well as its pains and 
perils. The men who entered this service were such jolly, roving blades 
as could not be content with the dull hum-drum occupations of every- 
day life — but such as required excitement and even the prospect of danger 
to stir up their animal spirits. 

The earliest history of the Mississippi is associated with narratives 
of piracy and murder. Buccaneers infested the mouths of the river, 
as its bays and creeks afforded places of concealment for themselves 
and their ill-gotten wealth. These aquatic banditti flourished to some 
extent, even after the war of 1814, and their last leader, Lafitte, is 
renowned in tale, song, and history for his courage, cruelty and crimes. 
His vessels were usually concealed in the land-locked bay of Barataria, 
to the westward of the mouth of the river. 

When these celebrated sea-robbers had been extirpated by the Ameri- 
can government, and while the hunting grounds of western Virginia and 
Kentucky were being gradually wrested from the Shawnee Indians, the 



ONTHEWESTERNWATERS. 35 

population became more dense, and the Mississippi itself became the 
means of communication and barter with the more northern tribes. 
Another race of aquatics now succeeded, who, if history and tradition 
do not greatly wrong them, were not much more exemplary in their 
conduct than the pirates and buccaneers who preceded them. We refer 
to the Mississippi boatmen. The reader has been made acquainted with 
some of the difficulties with which they had to contend, while struggling 
for weeks or months, without intermission, against the impetuous cur- 
rent, but they were obliged, in addition to all this, to " fight their way," 
very often with the skulking Indians on the banks, or with the scarcely 
half-civilized white inhabitants of various districts contiguous to the 
sh»res of the river. The boatmen who ascended the Ohio were not 
unfrequently assailed by the savages, who, taking up the most favorable 
positions, either poured down the contents of their rifles on the boat as 
she passed, or, taking advantage of the dense fogs, boarded them in 
their canoes, and exterminated the crew of the barge without mercy. 
The crews of different boats likewise had their feuds or rivalships, and 
when these hostile barges happened to meet on the river, battles and 
bloodshed were the usual results. 

Such a cours^ of life was well calculated to make these boatmen law- 
less, desperate, and ferocious ; but it appears that there was one bright 
spot on the dusky disc of their reputation. Their "redeeming virtue," 
as we are told, was scrupulous fidelity to their employers, the merchants, 
who entrusted them with valuable cargoes, without insurance, or any 
other guarantee except the receipt of the steersman, who possessed no 
other property than his interest in the boat. Nevertheless, this scru- 
pulous integrity may appear to have been based on policy rather than 
principle, for the boatman's business depended solely on the confidence 
of the merchant in his honesty and fair dealing. It is reported, that 
numbers of wealthy travellers, who had occasion to take passage in 
these boats, never uttered any subsequent complaints of ill-treatment, 
unless these complaints were made to the catfish at the bottom of the 
river ! Mysterious disappearances were of frequent occurrence at that 
time, and it required a stout heart to make a voyage down the Missis- 
sippi, if the voyager carried with him any property which might tempt 
the cupidity of these piratical boatmen. 

The model hero of this tribe was the famous Mike Fink, who, if we 
mistake not, has figured on the pages of more than one popular romance 
of our day. The veritable Mike, without any fanciful embellishment, 
was a ruffian of surpassing strength and courage, his rifle was unerring, 
and his conscience was as easy and accommodating as a man in his line 



36 GLIMPSESOPEARLYLIFE 

of business could wish. He had not been regularly trained from youth 
in the vocation of a boatman, but originally belonged to a company of 
government spies, or scouts, "whose duty it was to watch the motions of 
the Indians on the frontiers. This peculiar service is thus described : — 
At that time Pittsburgh was on the extreme verge of white population, 
and the spies, who were constantly employed, generally extended their 
reconnoissance forty or fifty miles to the west of this post. They went 
out singly, lived in the Indian style, and perfectly assimilated them- 
selves in habits, tastes and feelings to the red men of the forest. A 
kind of border warfare was kept up, and the scout thought it as praise- 
worthy to bring in the scalp of a Shawnee as the skin of a panther. 
He would remain in the woods for weeks together, using parched corn 
for bread, while for meat he depended on his rifle. At night he slept 
in perfect comfort, rolled up in his blanket with nothing but a magnifi- 
cent canopy of stars, or, as it might happen, with a drapery of clouds 
over his head. 

Mike Fink, after having pursued this delicious mode of life for some 
time, appears to have got tired of his land service, and betook himself to 
the water. He now engrafted several other occupations on that of the 
boatman ; for while he dealt liberally and honestly with his friends and 
mercantile patrons, he put all the rest of mankind under contribution ; 
and, in fact, was known from Pittsburgh to New Orleans as a regular 
freebooter. 

An anecdote illustrative of his address and presence of mind is thus 
related : — One day, while he was making a little excursion in the woods, 
creeping along, according to his Indian habits, with the stealthy tread 
of a cat, his eye fell upon a beautiful buck, browsing on a barren spot, 
about three hundred yards distant. The temptation was too strong for 
the old woodsman, and he resolved, although the place was right peril- 
ous on account of Indian neighbours, to have a shot at all hazards. 
Repriming his gun and picking his flint, he made his approaches in the 
usual noiseless manner. At the moment he reached the spot from 
which he meant to take his aim, he observed a large savage, intent upon 
the same object, advancing from a direction a little different from his 
own. Mike shrunk back behind a tree with the quickness of thought, 
and keeping his eye fixed on the hunter, awaited the result with 
patience. In a few moments the Indian halted within fifty paces, and 
levelled his piece at the deer. In the meanwhile Mike presented his 
rifle at the body of the savage, and as the smoke issued from the gun 
of the latter, the bullet of Fink passed through the red man's breast. 
He uttered a yell, and fell dead at the same instant with the deer. 



ON THEWESTERN WATERS. 37 

Mike reloaded his rifle, and remained in his covert for some minutes, to 
ascertain whether there were more enemies at hand. He then stepped 
up to the prostrate savage, and having satisfied himself that life was 
extinct, he turned his attention to the buck, and took from the carcase 
such choice pieces as he could conveniently carry off. 

Mr. Fink's skill in the use of the rifle is exemplified in the following in- 
stance. While descending the Ohio in his boat, he once made a wager with 
a passenger that he would, from the mid-stream, with his rifle balls, cut 
off" the tails of five pigs which were feeding on the banks. He executed 
this feat with such dexterity, that the unfortunate porkers were deprived 
of every vestige of their ornamental appendages, not a stump being 
left to indicate the position which said appendages had occupied. 

The death of Mike Fink was melo-dramatic at least, if it wanted the 
dignified characteristics of tragedy. He had a friend, one of his barge 
companions, named Joe Stevens, on whom he had lavished his good 
offices, taught him the use of the rifle, and many other accomplishments 
suited to his situation in life. Mike likewise had a sweetheart, the 
daughter of one of the early settlers, who dwelt in a cottage or shanty 
on the bank of the river, and performed the duties of laundress for the 
boatmen, among whom she had many admirers. Fink for some time 
appeared to be the most acceptable of this young lady's numerous 
lovers, but he was aroused at last from dreams of bliss, as delusive as 
they were delicious, by the fatal discovery that his friend Joe Stevens 
had fully realized all that felicity which he himself had enjoyed only in 
visionary perspective. Burning with rage and jealousy, Mike contrived 
to hide his resentment while he aAvaited a fair opportunity for vengeance. 
That opportunity came at last. On a certain fine autumnal afternoon, 
the crew of Fink's boat were recreating themselves on shore with the 
rifle exercise, shooting at a mark, which was a very common divertise- 
raent among gentlemen of their profession. Fink's reputation as an ac- 
curate marksman was so well established that his companions frequent- 
ly allowed him to fire at a tin cup placed on the head of one of their 
number, and the man who supported this target, having a perfect reli- 
ance on Mike's skill, never considered the valuable contents of his 
knowledge-box endangered in the least by this experiment. On the 
occasion now referred to, a stranger was present, and Fink, apparently 
with a desire to show off" his exquisite accomplishment, proposed to 
shoot at the tin cup in the manner just described. The person whom 
he selected to bear the target was his rival in love, and the object of 
his fierce but hitherto concealed resentment, Joe Stevens, who was 
wholly unsuspicious of the deadly malice whicli lurked in Mike's bosom 



38 GLIMPSESOFEARLYLIFE 

Joe cheerfully consented to be £lie cup-bearer, and having assumed the 
glittering but perilous diadem, lie placed himself at the proper distance, 
and requested Mike to "blaze away." Mike did blaze away with a 
vengeance, but instead of aiming at the cup, as the spectators supposed 
he would, he directed the piece a few inches lower, perforated the skull 
of the unlucky Stevens, and laid him dead on the spot. A brother of 
Stevens was present, and he, suspecting that the bloody deed had 
been premeditated by Fink, levelled his gun at the latter, and shot him 
dead likewise. And thus the eventful life of this illustrious personage 
was brought to a sudden termination. 

Another river hero of great celebrity was James Gii'ty. Western 
Pennsylvania has the honor of giving him birth ; and some of his family, 
before his time, had acquired unenviable distinction. His two uncles, 
Simon and George, had adopted the Indian habits and costume, and 
were supposed to be the principal instigators of many of the atrocities 
committed by the savages on the frontier settlements. James Girty, 
the boatman, is represented to have been a natural prodigy. lie was 
not constructed like ordinary men, for, instead of ribs, bountiful nature 
had provided him with a solid, bony casing on both sides, without any 
interstices through which a knife, dirk, or bullet could penetrate. He 
possessed, likewise, amazing muscular power, and courage in proportion, 
and his great boast was, that he had "never been whipt." 

This man had been engaged in some of the most desperate adventures, 
and several times subjected himself to the severest penalties of the laws, 
but his customary good fortune saved him in all extremities. At one 
time, while he commanded a barge called the Black Snake, his boat's 
crew were fleeced, and some of them severely beaten by a strong party 
of gamblers at Natchez. The men refused to get the boat under weigh 
until they obtained vengeance ; and Girty, in order to save time, 
agreed to accompany them to the dance-house, where the gamblers held 
their head-quarters, to assist in punishing the villains as they deserved. 
Several of the gamblers were killed, and others badly wounded in the 
affray which followed ; Girty and some of the other ringleaders of his 
party were arrested, and afterwards tried for manslaughter ; but the 
lady who kept the dance-house, and who appears to have been a par- 
ticular friend and admirer of Girty, so managed it that the principal 
witnesses were not forthcoming at the trial. One witness only refused 
to absent himself at this lady's request, but she secured his silence by 
giving him a strong dose of arsenic a day or two before the trial came 
on. And so, as nobody appeared against Mr. Girty, he was " honor- 
ably acquitted." 



ONTHEWESTERN WATERS. 89 

The river men were generally on the most friendly terms witn the 
hordes of robbers who infested the neighboring country. In fact, these 
" land rats and water rats," as Shylock would call them, were allies 
and associates, assisting each other in a variety of nefarious under- 
takings. A beautiful and romantic spot, called Cave-in-rock, on the 
Ohio river, was the general place of rendezvous for freebooters and 
boatmen. Here they held their grand councils, divided their plunder, 
and formed plans for future depredations. 

From the accounts here given, the reader may judge what was the 
state of human society on and about the western rivers fifty years ago. 
Travelling on those rivers, at that period, was not less dangerous than 
expensive and dilatory. Robberies and murders were the common 
incidents of westward travel, either by land or water. The barges 
were manned chiefly by men of desperate fortunes and characters, fugi- 
tives from justice, and other outcasts from society, who were prepared 
to commit any crime on the slightest provocation or inducement. We 
are now prepared to estimate the importance of that great change which 
may be called the Steamboat Revolution, a particular account of which 
will be given in the next article. 



COMMENCEMENT OF STEAM NAVIGATION ON THE 
WESTERN WATERS. 



From the year 1786 to 1811, the only regular mode of transporta- 
tion on the western rivers was such as we have described in the pre- 
ceding article. The entire commerce of those rivers was transacted 
by means of those clumsy contrivances called barges and flat-boats, 
which consumed three or four months in making the trip from New 
Orleans to Louisville, a trip which is now made by steam power in five 
or six days, and has been made in a little over four. The price of 
passage from New Orleans to Pittsburgh was then $160; freight 
$6.75 per hundred pounds. The introduction of steam has reduced 
the price of passage between these two cities to thirty dollars, and 
merchandise is carried the whole distance for a price which may be re- 
garded as merely nominal. Besides this great saving of time and 
money efl'ected by steam navigation on these waters, the comparative 
safety of steam conveyance is an item which especially deserves our 
notice. Before the steam dispensation began, travellers and merchants 
were obliged to trust their lives or property to the bargemen, many 
of whom were suspected, with very good reason, to be in confederacy 
with the land robbers who infested the shores of the Ohio, and the 
pirates who resorted to the islands of the Mississippi. These particu- 
lars being understood, we are prepared to estimate the value and im- 
portance of the services which the steam-engine has rendered, to the 
commerce and prosperity of the Western States. 

The earliest account we have of the navigation of the Mississippi, 
refers to a period more than three hundred years ago, when Ferdinand 
De Soto, the first discoverer of that mighty stream, was engaged in 
his famous and fantastic exploring expedition in search of " the foun- 
tain of youth." About one hundred years later. Father Joliet, a 
Jesuit ambassador and envoy from France, again disturbed these 
waters, by launching on their bosom a bark which had been trans- 

(40) 



NAVIGATION ox THE WESTERN WATERS. 41 

ported by his fellow adventurers on their shoulders across the terri- 
tory between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. 

The first vessel ever built on the waters of the West was the brig 
Dean, which derived her name from her builder and original proprie- 
tor. She was launched at the present site of Allegheny city, near 
Pittsburgh, in 180G. She afterwards made a vovafre from Pittsburo;h 
to the Mediterranean. When making her entry at the custom-house, at 
Leghorn, in 1807, the officer objected to her papers, declaring that 
such a port as Pittsburgh did not exist in the United States ! A map 
was produced, and the captain guided the finger of the officer along 
the courses of the Mississippi and Ohio, by Cincinnati to Pittsburgh, 
and the astonishment of the custom-house gentleman was unspeakable 
when the location of this new city in the wilderness was pointed out. 
This incident may give the reader some idea of the ignorance and in- 
credulity which prevail in Europe in relation to the rapid growth and 
prosperity of this country. 

After the purchase of Louisiana from Napoleon, in 1808, some 
eastern capitalists sent out mechanics, and built several ships on the 
Ohio. In 1805, Jonas Spoir built the ship "Scott" on the Kentucky 
river, twenty miles above Frankfort, and near the residence of that 
celebrated western pioneer. General Charles Scott. This ship was the 
first that ever made a successful trip to the Falls of the Ohio. She 
remained there for several months before the occurrence of a rise in 
the river sufficient to float her over. In the meantime, two other ves- 
sels from Pittsburgh, built by James Berthone & Co., had arrived at 
the Falls, and in the attempt to get over, the longest one was sunk, 
and soon after torn to pieces by the violence of the current. This 
accident was so discouraging, that no further attempts at ship-building 
were made on the Ohio. 

In 1811, Messrs. Fulton and Livingston, having established a ship- 
yard at Pittsburgh, for the purpose of introducing steam navigation on 
the western waters, built an experimental boat for this service ; and 
this was the first steamboat that ever floated on the western rivers. It 
was furnislied with a propelling wheel at the stern, and two masts ; 
for Mr. Fulton believed, at that time, that the occasional use of sails 
would be indispensable. This first western steamboat was called the 
Orleans. Her capacity was one hundred tons. In the winter of 1812, 
she made her first trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans in 14 days. She 
continued to make regular trips between New Orleans and Natchez, until 
the fourteenth day of July, 1814, when she was wrecked near Baton 
Rouge, on her upward-bound passage, by striking a snag. 



42 



COMMENCEMENT OF STEAM NAVIGATION 



The first appearance of this vessel on the Ohio river produced, as 
the reader may suppose, not a little excitement and admiration. A 
steamboat, at that day,' was to common observers, almost as great a 
wonder as a flying angel would be at present. The banks of the river, 
in some places, were thronged with spectators, gazing in speechless 




FIRST BOAT BUILT ON THE WESTERN WATERS, 1812. 

astonishment at the puffing and smoking phenomenon. The average 
speed of this boat was only about three miles per hour. Before her 
ability to move through the water without the assistance of sails or oars 
had been fully exemplified, comparatively few persons believed that she 
could possibly be made to answer any purpose of real utility. In fact, 
she had made several voyages before the general prejudice began to 
subside, and for some months, many of the river merchants preferred 
the old mode of transportation, with all its risks, delays, and extra 
expense, rather than make use of such a contrivance as a steamboat, 
which, to their apprehensions, appeared too marvellous and miraculous 
for the business of every day life. How slow are the masses of man- 
kind to adopt improvements, even when they appear to be most obvious 
and unquestionable ! 

The second steamboat of the West was a diminutive vessel called the 
" Comet." She was rated at twenty-five tons. Daniel D. Smith was the 
owner, and D. French the builder of this boat. Her machinery was 
on a plan for which French had obtained a patent in 1809. She went 
to Louisville in the summer of 1813, and descended to New Orleans in 
the spring of 1814. She afterwards made two voyages to Natchez, 
and was then sold, taken to pieces, and the engine was put up in a 
cotton factory. 

The Vesuvius is the next in this record. She was built by Mr. 



ON THE WESTERN WATERS. 



43 



Fulton, at Pittsburgh, for a company, the several members of which 
resided at New York, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. She sailed 
under the command of Capt. Fmnk'Ogden, for New Orleans, in the 
spring of 1814. From New Orleans she started for Louisville in 
July of the same year, but was grounded on a sand-bar, seven hun- 
dred miles up the Mississippi, where she remained until the 3d of De- 
cember following, when, being floated off by the tide, she returned to 
New Orleans. In 1815, '16, she made regular trips for several 
months, from New Orleans to Natchez, under the command of Capt. 
Clement. This gentleman was soon after succeeded by Capt. John 
de Hart, and while approaching New Orleans with a valuable cargo 
on board, she took fire and burned to the water's edge. After being 
submerged for several months, her hulk was raised and refitted. She 
was afterwards in the Louisville trade, and was condemned in 1819. 

The Enterprise was No. 4 of the Western steamboat series. She was 
built at Brownsville, Pa., by D. French, under his patent, and was owned 
by several residents of that place. The Enterprise was a small boat of 
seventy-five tons. She made two voyages to Louisville in the summer 
of 1814, under the command of Capt. J. Gregg. On the 1st of Decem- 
ber, in the same year, she conveyed a cargo of ordnance stores from 
Pittsburgh to New Orleans. While at the last-named port, she was pres- 







ENTEKPISE ON HER FAST TRIP TO LOUISVILLE, 1815. 

sed into service by Gen. Jackson. Her owners were afterwards remu- 
nerated by the United States' government. AYhen engaged in the pub- 
lic service, she was eminently useful in transporting troops, arms, and 
ammunition to the seat of war. She left New Orleans for Pittsburgh on 
ihc 6th of May, 1815, and reached Louisville after a passage of twenty- 



44 COMMENCEMENT OF STEAM NAVIGATION 

five days, thus completing the first steamboat voyage ever made from 
New Orleans to Louisville. But at the time the Enterprise made this 
trip, the water was so high that the banks in many places were over- 
flowed ; consequently there was no current. The Enterprise was en- 
abled to make her way up without much difficulty, by running through 
the " cut-oflFs," and over inundated fields, in still water. In view of 
these favorable circumstances, the experiment was not satisfactory, the 
public being still in doubt whether a steamboat could ascend the Mis- 
sissippi when that river was confined within its banks, and the current 
as rapid as it generally is. 

Such was the state of public opinion when the steamboat Washington 
commenced her career. This vessel, the fourth in the cataloixue of 
western steamboats, was constructed under the personal superintendence 
and direction of Capt. Henry M. Shreve. The hull was built at 
Wheeling, Va., and the engines were made at Brownsville, Pa. The 
entire construction of the boat comprised various innovations, which 
were suggested by the ingenuity and experience of Capt. Shreve. The 
Washington was the first " two decker" on the western waters. The 
cabin was placed between the decks. It had been the general practice 
for steamboats to carry their boilers in the hold ; in this particular 
Capt. Shreve made a new arrangement, by placing the boilers of the 
Washington on deck ; and- this plan was such an obvious improvement, 
that all the steamboats on those waters retain it to the present day. 
The engines constructed under Fulton's patent had upright and 
stationary cylinders. In French's engines vibrating cylinders were 
used. Shreve caused the cylinders of the Washington to be placed in 
aJiorizontal position, and gave the vibrations to the pitman. Fulton and 
K-ench used single low-pressure engines. Shreve employed a double 
high-pressure engine, with cranks at right angles ; and this was the 
first engine of that kind ever used on the western rivers. Mr. David 
Prentice had previously used cam wheels for working the valves of the 
cylinder ; Capt. Shreve added his great invention of the cam cut-off, 
with flues to the boilers, by which three-fifths of the fuel were saved. 
These improvements originated with Capt. Shreve, but although they 
have been in universal use for a long time, their origin is not known. 

On the 24th day of September, 1816, the Washington passed over 
the Falls of Ohio, on her first trip to New Orleans, and returned to 
Louisville in November following. While at New Orleans the ingenuity 
of her construction excited the admiration of the most intellisent 
citizens of that place. Edward Livingston, after a critical examination 
of the boat and her machinery, remarked to Capt. Shreve, " You 



N T 11 E W E S T E R N W A T E R S . 45 

deserve well of your country, young man ; but vre (referring to Fulton 
and Livingston's monopoly) shall be compelled to beat you (in the 
courts), if we can." 

An accumulation of ice in the Oliio compelled tlie Washington to 
remain at the Falls until March 12th, 1817. On that day she com- 
menced her second voyage to New Orleans. She accomplished this 
trip and returned to Shippingsport, at the foot of the Falls, in forty-one 
days. The ascending voyage was made in twenty-five days, and from 
this voyage all historians date the commencement of steam navigation 
in the Mississippi valley. It was now practically demonstrated to the 
satisfaction of the public in general, that steamboats could ascend this 
river in less than one-fourth the time which the barges and keel-boats 
had required for the same purpose. This feat of the Washington pro- 
duced almost as much popular excitement and exultation in that region 
as the battle of New Orleans. The citizens of Louisville gave a public 
dinner to Capt. Shreve, at which he predicted that the time would 
come when the trip from New Orleans to Louisville would be made in 
ten days. Although this may have been regarded as a boastful declara- 
tion at that time, the prediction has been more than fulfilled ; for in 
1853 the trip was made in four days and nine hours. 

After that memorable voyage of the Washington, all doubts and 
prejudices in reference to steam navigation were removed. Ship-yards 
began to be established in every convenient locality, and the business 
of steamboat building was vigorously prosecuted. But a new obstacle 
now presented itself, which, for a time, threatened to give an effectual 
check to the spirit of enterprise and progression which had just been 
developed. We refer to the claims made by Messrs. Fulton and Liv- 
ingston to the exclusive right of steam navigation on the rivers of the 
United States. This claim being resisted by Capt. Shreve, the Wash- 
ington was attached at New Orleans, and taken possession of by the 
sheriff. When the case came for adjudication before the District Court 
of Louisiana, that tribunal promptly negatived the exclusive privileges 
claimed by Livingston and Fulton, which were decided to be uncon- 
stitutional. The monopoly claims of Livingston and Fulton were finally 
withdrawn in 1819, and the last restraint on the steamboat navigation of 
the western rivers was thus removed, leaving western enterprise and ener- 
gy at full liberty to carry on the great work of improvement. This work 
has been so progressive that, at the present time, no less than ei<jfht 
hundred steamboats are in constant operation on the Ohio and Missis- 
sippi and their tributaries, and this mode of navigation has there been 
carried to a degree of perfection unrivalled in any other part of the world. 



THE OHIO EIVEE. 



No man who has the least appreciation of natural beauty, ever beheld 
this river and its diversified shores without a feeling of admiration. 
The Frenchman, boastful of his refined tastes, and the uncultivated 
savage of the wilderness, agreed in giving it the name which, in the 
language of each, signified " TJie beautiful river ;" and never was a com- 
plimentary title more truly deserved than in this instance. The banks 
on either side present a succession of tall and picturesque cYiWs, with 
alternate valleys, meadows, and woodlands, which nature seems to have 
arranged with more than her customary regularity ; while numerous 
islands, decorated with superb trees and luxurious verdure, complete a 
natural panorama which nothing of artificial production can ever equal. 

The Ohio river is formed by the junction of the Alleghany and 
Monongahela rivers at Pittsburgh. Flowing generally in a south-westerly 
direction, it separates the States of Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana on the 
right, from Virginia and Kentucky on the left. The Ohio river unites 
with the Mississippi ten hundred and sixteen miles from the mouth of 
the latter, in lat. 37° K, long. 89° 10' W. The whole length of the 
Ohio is nine hundred and sixty-four miles. In breadth, it varies from four 
hundred to six hundred yards. At Cincinnati it is about six hundred 
yards wide, which may be considered as the mean breadth of the river. 

The Alleghany river, whose confluence with the Monongahela forms 
the Ohio, rises in Potter county, in the northern part of Pennsylvania, 
and after a circuitous course through a part of New York, it again 
enters Pennsylvania, and unites, as previously stated, with the Monon- 
gahela at Pittsburgh. For nearly two hundred miles from that city 
the Alleghany is navigable for boats. Steamboats of a small size have 
occasionally ascended to Olean, two hundred and fifty miles from the 
mouth of this river. 

The Monongahela is formed by the union of the West-Fork and 

Tygart's Valley rivers, which rise in Randolph and Lewis counties, 

Virginia, and meet one mile from Fairmont, in Marion county of the 

same State. The Monongahela is navigable for large steamboats as 
(46) 



THE OHIO RIVER. 47 

far as BroTvnsville, Pennsylvania, thirty-five miles from the mouth of 
this river ; and for boats of a medium size, as far as Fairmont, Virginia. 
The whole length of the river, exclusive of its branches, is one hundred 
and fifty miles. The obstructions to navigation which formerly existed 
in the lower part of this river have been removed, or obviated by 
various artificial contrivances. 

The principal tributaries of the Ohio arc the Muskingum, Great 
KanaAvha, Big Sandy, Sciota, Miama, Green, Kentucky, Wabash, 
Cumberland, and Tennessee rivers. Of these tributary streams, the 
three last named are the most important. 

The Tennessee river is the largest stream which pours its waters 
into the Ohio. It is formed by the union of two branches, called the 
Clinch and Holston rivers, which have their sources among the Alle- 
ghany mountains, in the north-west part of Virginia. These branches 
unite at Kingston, North Carolina, and from thence the river Tennes- 
see flows westerly into the State of the same name, then makes an ex- 
tensive circuit through the northern part of Alabama, and then, 
changing its course again, runs nearly northward, through the States 
of Tennessee and Kentucky, and falls into the Ohio at Paducah, in 
lat. 37° N., and long. 88° 35' W. The length of the Tennessee, from the 
junction of its branches, is eight hundred miles, but in connection with 
Holston river, its longest branch, it is computed to be eleven hundred 
miles long. For six hundred miles the Tennessee is navigable for large 
boats, and for boats of a smaller size, four hundred miles more. Steam- 
boats of the first class ascend this river as far as Florence, Alabama, 
which is situated on the north bank at the foot of the rapids called 
Muscle shoals, which are between Lauderdale and Lawrence counties, 
Alabama. The river here has a descent of about one hundred feet in the 
course of twenty miles, and no boats can pass over the shoals except in 
the highest stages of water. The channel at this place varies from one 
to two miles in width, but at the lower termination of the shoals it is con- 
tracted to half a mile. The bluffs on each side are composed of an upper 
stratum of flint, and a lower stratum of fine limestone. In 1840, a 
canal twelve miles long was built around the shoals, but unfortunately the 
locks were made too short to admit even the smallest steamboats that 
navigate that river ; it was soon abandoned, and the channel has been 
filling up for the last fifteen years. Thousands of wild geese and ducks 
resort to this locality to feed on the species of shell-fish from which the 
name of Muscle Shoals is derived. Above the rapids, boats run at all 
seasons to Knoxville, Tennessee, on the Holston, a distance of five 
hundred miles. 

Cumberland river, one of the largest affluents of the Ohio, rises 



48 THE OHIO RIVER. 

among tlie CumberlanJ mountains, near the south-east boundary of 
Kentucky. After flowing westwardly about two hundred miles through 
the State of Kentucky, it takes a meandering course through a part 
of the State of Tennessee, until it reaches Nashville. From this point 
it flows N. W., and again enters the State of Kentucky about ten miles 
east of the Tennessee river. Its course afterwards is nearly parallel 
with that of the Tennessee, until it enters the Ohio river at Smithland. 
During the time of high water, large boats ascend to Nashville, about 
two hundred miles from the mouth of this river, and small boats go 
three hundred miles further. The area drained by the Cumberland 
river is estimated at twenty thousand square miles. 

The beautiful river of Kentucky is formed by the north, middle, and 
south fords, which unite in Proctor and Owsley counties. It flows N. W., 
forming the boundary between Fayette, Jessemine, and Woodford 
counties on the right, and Madison, Garrard, Mercer, and Anderson on 
the left ; then passing through Franklin county and Frankfort city, 
and separating Owen from Henry county, it falls into the Ohio at 
Carrollton, ninety miles below Cincinnati, and sixty above the Falls 
of Ohio. The length of the main stream is about two hundred miles, 
which is navigable by means of dams and locks to Frankfort at all 
times ; and flat boats ascend one hundred miles further. In many parts 
of its course it flows through a deep channel, formed by perpendicular 
walls of limestone, and is remarkable for its picturesque scenery. 

The Muskingum river has been made navigable, by means of artificial 
improvements, as far as Zanesville, seventy miles from its mouth ; but 
at times of high water boats may ascend to Coshocton, thirty miles 
further. Sciota river admits of steamboat navigation for a distance of 
fifty miles. The State of Ohio contributes to the river from which it 
derives its name, the waters of the Muskingum, Sciota, Miami, and 
several minor streams, whose courses vary in length from one hundred 
and twenty to two hundred and fifty miles. 

Green river rises in the centre of Kentucky, and flows westerly, 
until, having completed more than half its course, it receives the waters 
of the Big Barren river. In this part of its route it traverses the 
cavernous limestone formation, and passes over that stupendous natural 
curiosity, the Mammoth Cave. From its confluence with Big Barren 
river, it takes a north westerly course, and falls into the Ohio in Hen. 
derson county, Kentucky, nine miles above Evansville, Indiana, on the 
opposite shore. The whole length of Green river is estimated at three 
hundred and fifty miles. It is made navigable by locks and dams, at 
all seasons, as far as Bowling Green on the Big Barren river, twenty 



THE OHIO RIVER. 49 

miles below the Mammoth Cave, and during a part of the year the navi- 
gation extends to the Cave itself. At times of high water, boats have 
reached Greensbury, two hundred miles from the mouth of the river. 

The Ohio begins its course at Pittsburgh with graceful tranquillity. 
Its breadth for some distance after the conjunction of its two parent 
streams, is about six' hundred yards. At this point the elevation of the 
Ohio above the level of the sea is six hundred and ninety feet ; at the 
entrance of the Muskingum river, it is five hundred and forty-eight 
feet ; at the mouth of the Sciota, four hundred and sixty-six feet ; op- 
posite Cincinnati, four hundred and eighteen feet ; and at its conflu- 
ence with the Mississippi, three hundred and twenty-five feet ; making 
the average descent a little less than six inches to the mile. 

The peculiarity of the Ohio river which distinguishes it from the 
Mississippi, and some others, is its extraordinary gentleness and 
serenity. The ordinary motion of the current is about three and a 
half miles per hour ; its velocity gradually increases to the time of high 
water, when it is nearly doubled. But for nearly three-quarters of 
the year, the stream moves with so much gentleness, that an object 
floating on its bosom would be carried scarcely more than two and a 
half miles in an hour. 

But the case is very different during one of the periodical floods, or 
" freshets," of the Monongahela and Alleghany, which are sometimes of 
such sudden occurrence that the waters of that river rise twenty feet in 
the same number of hours. Then, indeed, the impulse given by the swollen 
river to the head-waters of the Ohio, changes the usual placidity of 
that stream to a torrent-like violence and impetuosity. The "rush of 
the waters," at such times, is tremendous, and the force of the current 
irresistible. This rise of the river affords an opportunity for the 
canal boats at Pittsburgh to cast off" their moorings, and commit them- 
selves to the rapid stream, which carries them, by the mere force of 
the tide, to the various landing-places on the Ohio, from whence the 
south and west obtain their annual supplies of mineral fuel. 

The falls of the Ohio, at Louisville, Kentucky, about six hundred miles 
below Pittsburgh, may be considered as a remarkable deviation from 
the usually quiet deportment of the river. The descent, at this point, 
is 22^- feet within two miles, which produces a current so rapid and 
dangerous, that this part of the river is considered often unnavigable ; 
boats of the largest size, however, sometimes pass these rapids, by 
taking advantage of an unusual depth of water. In order to obviate 
this natural obstruction to the navigation of the Ohio, a canal of suitable 
dimensions and capacity has been constructed on the Kentucky side 
4 



50 THE OHIO EIVER. 

of the river, which extends the whole length of the rapids, (ahout two 
miles,) and affords a smooth and safe passage for boats one hundred 
and eighty-five feet in length, when the falls, for want of a sufficiency 
of water, are impassible. In descending the falls, the channel is near 
the Indiana shore ; but, in ascending, the boats are compelled to take 
the "middle schute," near Corn island, the situation of which is in the 
centre of the river. In the navigation of these falls, up or down, it is 
always necessary to have a "fall's pilot," and those gentlemen skilled 
and experienced in the art of conducting a vessel through these 
" troublesome waters," are to be found only at Louisville, Kentucky. 
One notable circumstance connected with the topography of the 
Ohio river, is the vast number of beautiful islands which are enclosed 
by its waters. More than one hundred of these are of considerable 
size ; some of them are exceedingly fertile, and in a high state of culti- 
vation, and many of them are covered with trees of the largest size. 
There is an equal or greater number of islets of alluvial formation, 
whose vegetation is more scanty, and some are mere sand-banks, en- 
tirely barren, or covered in spots with a growth of willows, or other 
trees or shrubs, which can find nourishment in such a meagre soil. The 
navigation of the Ohio above the falls is obstructed, more or less, 
during the summer months, by a deficiency of water, and by numerous 
sand-bars, which sometimes extend from shore to shore, or project 
to a considerable distance across the bed of the stream. Steamboats 
which have the misfortune to be grounded on these bars are often com- 
pelled to remain in that situation until relieved by the periodical rise 
of the river. At those seasons, when the depth of water is insufficient 
for the larger class of boats, they are generally withdrawn, and their 
place is supplied by small " stern-wheel boats," which, even when not 
laden, have a draught of water not exceeding sixteen or twenty 
inches. These delicately constructed vessels do an exceedingly lucra- 
tive business, until the rise of the water forces them from the field of 
competition. 

In the winter season the Ohio is commonly frozen over for six or 
eight weeks, during which time the business of the river is entirely 
suspended. At this season of inactivity the boats seek a secure har- 
bor to avoid the running ice, and embrace the opportunity to refit and 
make preparations for the re-commencement of active duty in the 
spring. The breaking up of the ice, which usually takes place in the 
month of February, is caused by a sudden rise in the river, which 
forces the ice in huge fragments down the stream. This is a time of 
some peril, when boats, by any chance, are exposed to the fury of the 



THE OHIO RIVER. 51 

icy torrent, ■which pours down with prodigious force and rapidity. Not 
unfrequently as many as a dozen boats are overwhelmed and sub- 
merged at "one fell swoop." 

The Ohio, like a majority of rivers, is subject to great elevations and 
depressions. The average difference between high and low water, at 
ordinary times is about fifty-three feet ; but in the years 1810, '32, and '47, 
the rise was sixty-two feet six inches. At this elevation the water reaches 
the second story of the houses on Water street, Cincinnati, and almost 
inundates Cairo, at the mouth of the river. At its lowest stages, the 
Ohio is fordable at several places between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, 
though boats constructed for the purpose may navigate the river at all 
seasons. 

The navigable waters of the Ohio and its tributaries is estimated at 
more than six thousand miles in extent ; and the regions drained by 
these streams comprise an area of two hundred and thirty thousand 
square miles. Between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, the river scenery is 
especially magnificent, picturesque or beautiful, as the view varies at 
different points. The banks, or clifi's, in some places are from one hun- 
dred to two hundred feet in height, and are often covered with dense 

forests, which extend down the embankment to the very margin of the 
stream. 

The Ohio, when open for navigation, as it is for nearly the whole 

year, is covered with boats, and the commerce of the river amounts 

annually to many millions of dollars. 




(52) 



SKETCH OF PITTSBURGH. 



Pittsburgh is one of the largest and most important cities west of the Alleghany mountains. 
It is situated at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, which here foroi 
the Ohio river; 357 miles West of Philadelphia; 477 N. E. by E. of Cincinnati ; 1174 E. N. 
E. of St. Louis; and 223 N. W. of Washington. Lat. 40° 32' N.; Ion. 80° 2' W. The site 
comprises the triangular plain enclosed by the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, Grant's 
Hill, and several other elevations which terminate the plain on E. Fort Duquesne, a French 
trading post erected in 1754, formerly occupied the site where Pittsburgh now stands. In 
1758, an English expedition marched against this post, which was then regarded by the 
youthful Washington as the key of the West. An advanced detachment, under Capt. Grant, 
having encamped on what is still called Grant's Hill, was attacked and defeated by a party 
of French and Indians from fort Duquesne; but on the approach of Gen. Forbes, with a force 
of 6200 men, the disheartened garrison set fire to the fort and descended the Ohio river. The 
victorious troops on entering, November 25th, by general acclamation called the place Pitts- 
burgh, in honor of Wm. Pitt, then Prime Minister of England. The town of Pittsburgh began 
to be settled in 1765 ; it became a county town in 1791, was incorporated a borough in 1804, 
and chartered as a city in 1816. In 1845 a great fire consumed a large part of Pittsburgh, 
causing a destruction of property to the amount of $10,000,000. Notwithstanding this ter- 
rible calamity the city has continued to increase in wealth and population almost beyond 
parallel. The manufactures of Pittsburgh and its vicinity employ above six hundred steam- 
engines. There are about forty-five iron foundries with machine-shops, of which nine make 
on an average one hundred and fifty steam-engines annually; a mammoth rail manufactory, 
the largest perhaps in the world, is in operation there. It is capable of turning out one hun- 
dred and twenty tons of rails every twenty-four hours. Capital of the company, $1,000,000. 
There are twenty-three heavy blacksmithing forges, with a capital of $500,000, producing 
railroad axles, steamboat shafts, sugar mills, &c. Pittsburgh contains about sixty schools, 
and nearly an equal number in the suburbs, annually attended by eighteen thousand pupils. 
There are about twenty-five printing-offices, issuing newspapers and other publications, fif- 
teen of which are dailies. A Chamber of Commerce has been organized since 1850. The 
manufactures of Pittsburgh are immense, and capable of being extended almost indefinitely. 
Indeed, there are no known limits to the elements necessary to their augmentation. Wood, 
coal, ores, and agricultural resources, all abound in the utmost profusion, and may be obtained 
with scarcely any expenditure of labor or of capital. In England it requires an immense 
outlay of capital to mine coal, which there lies from 500 to 2500 feet below the surface ; but 
in Western Pennsylvania, enough coal to turn all the machinery ever constructed, may be 
found in rich beds underlying the hills, at an elevation above the ordinary level of the coun- 
try. Millions of bushels of coal are annually shipped from Pittsburgh to the West and South. 

Boats are built here in great numbers. Some of the fastest boats afloat on the Western 
waters were built at Pittsburgh. Machinery is here made cheap and durable, and many 
of the St. Louis and New Orleans commanders get their boats built and ciiuipped here. One 
of the largest and best engine builders is A. Irwin, Esq., firm of A. Erwin <fc David Holmes. 
It was at this establishment that the heavy engines of the John Simonds, Luckeye State, 
and other large steamers were built. 

Pittsburgh ia rapidly improving. Population in 1810, 5000; in 1820,7500; in 1830, 
1.3,000 ; in 1340, 22,000; in 1850, 80,000; in 1856, 159,000. 
(53) 



N 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI .— N 0.1, 



Ptetf 



^BLOODY ISLAND 



^'CMIOKIA 



RIVER 



T 



jrFrcRSON %,. 

BABRACKS '-^V. 



tCARROaS i. 



ST. LOUIS 
aUABENTINE 



KERCUUUMEUIVi;5:\^ 



\h. landing 



PLATINA BOCKS^^^^kl 



COMflSH IsJ 
SELM/Vgi 



RUSTTOWN^ilj 



LLOYD^S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS 



ON 



^\jt p$st$rtt Pains. 



TERRIFIC EXPLOSION AND LOSS OF LIFE ON BOARD THE 
STEAMBOAT WASHINGTON 

This deplorable accident took place on the Ohio river on the 9th 
day of June, 1816. The Washington was the largest and finest boat 
which had hitherto floated on any western stream. Her commander, 
Captain Shreve, was skilled and experienced in all the duties of his 
calling; her machinery was all presumed to be in the best possible 
order, and no human foresight could have anticipated the fatal event. 
The boat left Marietta, Ohio, on Monday, June 7, and on the after- 
noon of the following /lay came safely to anchor off Point Harmar, 
where she remained until Wednesday morning. The fires were now 
kindled, and other preparations made for continuing the voyage 
down the Ohio ; but a difficulty occurred in getting the boat into a 
proper position to start the machinery. While laboring to effect this 
object — the boat having, in the mean time, been carried by the force 
of the current near the Virginia shore — it became necessary to throw 
out a kedge anchor at the stern. Soon after, all hands were sum- 
moned aft to haul in the kedge, and while they were collected on the 
quarter for that purpose, by a singular and most unfortunate chance, 
the end of the cylinder nearest the stern was blown off, and a column 
of scalding water was thrown among the crowd, inflicting the most 
frightful injuries on nearly all of the boat's crew, and killing a number 
on the spot. The cry of consternation and anguish which then arose 
might have been heard for miles. The captain, mate, and several 

(55J 



56 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 



others "were blown overboard; but all of these, with the exception of 
one man, were afterwards rescued from the water, but were found to 
be more or less injured, either by the fragments of the cylinder or the 
scalding water. 

The inhabitants of the neighboring town, now called Harmar, were 
universally alarmed by the sound of the explosion, which appeared to 




EXPLOSION OF THE WASHINGTON, 1816. 

shake the solid earth to a considerable distance. A number of physicians 
and many other citizens crowded into the boat to ascertain the extent 
of the calamity ; but no language can describe the scene of misery and 
torture which then presented itself to the view of the spectators. The 
deck was strewn with mangled and writhing human beings, uttering 
screams and groans of intense suffering. Some, more fortunate than 
their companions, lay still in the embrace of death. Among the 
wounded, six or eight, under the influence of their maddening torments, 
had torn off their clothes, to which the entire skin of their limbs or 
bodies adhered ; the eyes of others had been put out, and their faces 
were changed to an undistinguishable mass of flesh by the scalding 
water. But the greatest sufferers, apparently, were those who had 
been internally injured by inhaling the scalding steam, the effect of 
which on the lungs is agonizing beyond all the powers of imagination to 
conceive. The whole scene was too horrible for description, and it 
made an impression on the minds of those who witnessed it which could 
never be obliterated. 

The cause of the explosion was a disarrangement of the safety-valve, 
which had become immovable in consequence of the accidental slipping 
of the weight to the extremity of the lever. The following is a list of 
the killed and wounded by this calamitous explosion : 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 57 

Killed : — Peter Lanfer, B. Harvey, Anna C. Jones, Thomas Brovrn, 

James Nulta, Jones, passengers ; Samuel Wait, carpenter, Jacob 

, colored cook. 

Wounded : — Captain Slireve, commander, Mr. Clark, engineer, 
James Blair, George White, Enoch II. McFeeley, Joseph Walsh, John 
C. Williams, (mortally,) passengers. 

^Ir. Williams of Kentucky, the unhappy gentleman last mentioned 
in the preceding list, while lying in the cabin of the Washington, in his 
last moments, offered one of the cabin-boys all his money if he would 
knock him on the head to put a speedy end to his misery. The 
boy who received this offer, and who relates the incident, is now Cap- 
tain Hiram Burch, of Marietta, Ohio, 

Joseph , one of the hands, was missing ; he is supposed to 

have been blown overboard, and carried down by the current. Several 
of the wounded died a short time afterwards in consequence of their 
injuries. At a meeting of the citizens of Marietta, a committee was 
appointed to provide for the sufferei's, and to make arrangements for 
the burial of the dead. 

This first steamboat accident in the West produced a great excitement 
among the inhabitants of that region, and occasioned for some time 
a strong prejudice against steamboat travel, the people being oblivious 
of the fact, that when the water conveyance was confined to barges and 
keel-boats, there was more real danger and more actual loss of life 
than may be classed among the incidents of steamboat navigation. 



EXPLOSION OF THE STEAMBOAT CONSTITUTION. 

On the 4th day of May, 1817, while the steamer Constitution was 
ascending the Mississippi river, and when she was off Point Coupee, 
the boiler exploded, making the whole front part of the cabin a perfect 
wreck, and killing or wounding thirty persons, eleven of whom perished 
instantly. As soon as the terrific report of the explosion was heard 
on board, numbers of the excited passengers threw themselves into the 
rapid current, and many were drowned or wafted down the stream before 
assj||tance could reach them. The shrieks of the wounded and dying 
were reverberated from the distant shores, and many a ghastly and 
heart-sickening spectacle presented itself on the deck of the ill-fated 
vessel. One man had been completely submerged in the boiling liquid 
which inundated the cabin, and in his removal to the deck, the skin 



MAP or THE MISSISSIPPI . — N 0.2, 




S^ FORT CHARTER 




LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



59 



had separated from the entire surface of his body. The unfortunate 
wretch was literally boiled alive, yet although his flesh parted from his 
boneS, and his agonies were most intense, he survived and retained all 
his consciousness for several hours. Another passenger was found 
lying aft of the wheel with an arm and a leg blown off, and as no surgi- 




BXPLOSIONOF THE C O M 8 T I T n T I N , 1 8 1 7 . 

J 

cal aid could be rendered him, death from loss of blood soon ended 
his sufferings. Miss C. Butler, of Massachusetts, was so badly scalded? 
that, after lingering in unspeakable agony for three hours, death came 
to her relief. Many were drowned whose names do not appear in the 
subjoined list of those who perished by this disaster. Besides, many 
of the victims were so mutilated and disfigured, that their bodies could 
not be identified ; and owing to these causes the list may be considered 
as very incomplete. 

Capt. Bczeau and lady, with some others, were fortunate enough to 
escape unhurt, being forward when the explosion took place. The 
following are the names of those who were killed : 

William Yarnall, Va. ; E. Frazier, Gibson Port, M. T. ; Thomas 
Brown, Scotland ;. Wm. McFarland, Washington Co., Ky. ; Joseph 
I). Wilson, James Carpenter, Md. ; Alexander Philpot, Henry Co., 
Va. ; William Steel, Warrenton, M. T. ; Peter Iluber, N. 0. and Bal- 
timore ; Robert Robertson, 18 years old ; William Larkin, silversmith 
Katchez ; Amos Shorter, Wm. Albright, David Young, Theodore 
Wiight, Mrs. Yancey, of Pittsburgh ; Mrs. Amy Farmer, Patrick 
Dougherty, Waldo Green, W. Wheeler, John Durrick, Augustus Baer, 
and Dennis Fryer. 

The Constitution, formerly called the Oliver Evans, was built at 
Pittsburgh only a short time before this fatal explosion. At that pe- 
riod she was one of the finest boats on the river. 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI . — N 0.3, 



Marys I. 



^Chester 
JMenard 



Marys R. 



jManscoes I, 



Liberty I. 



Jones Pointj( 



^Liberty 

Sheep I. 
^Uader Hills Ldjr. 



Big Eddy; 



Bailys Ldg.d^= 



Devils Back Bone 



Wilkinsons Ldg. 



La. 



Hat I. 



Whittenburgi 



^Devils Bake Oven 



Grand Tower tStSrE 



^Tower I. 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



61 



SINKING OF THE STEAMER TENNESSEE. 

About ten o'clock, on a dark night, in the midst of a tremendous 
snow storm, on the 8th of February, 1823, when the steamer Tennes- 
see, under a full press of steam, was ploughing her way up the turbu- 
lent Mississippi river, near Natchez, she struck a snag, and imme- 
diately commenced filling with water. The Tennessee was crowded 
with passengers, and the confusion and excitement were great among 
them all. The deck passengers had retired to bed. Most of those in 
the cabin were spending a cheerful evening together, in the enjoyment 
of social intercourse. The shock was great, and called every one in- 
stantly to the deck. Some supposed the boat had run into the bank, 
and would bound oflf again without injury. But the fatal truth was 




SINKING OF THE TENNESSE E — 1 8 2 3. 



soon known, and in the confusion many leaped overboard and per- 
ished. Capt. Campbell gave orders instantly to stop the leak ; but the 
pilot, who had been down to examine the damage, with difficulty escaped 
from the hold, in consequence of the water so rapidly rushing in. A 
hole as large as a common door was torn in the hull, and the truth 
was soon told — the Tennessee was going down. The shrieks of the 
women were heart-rending at this awful news. The night was dark, 
and the Avind howling around in its fury made the scene doubly 
terrible. Every one inquired of his neighbor what was to be done, and 
every one was anxious to provide for his own safety. The yawl and 
long boat were lowered, and into it the passengers, nearly two hundred 
in number, crowded, till it was on the eve of sinking. Those in the 



62 Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 

boat shoved ojff", and with one oar could not reach the shore in time to 
return to assist those left behind. Some, finding there was no~ chance 
in the long boat, jumped into the river and swam ashore ; others pulled 
off the cabin doors and floated on them ; some got among the fire 
wood, and were lost by slipping through and being covered by it ; some 
clung to parts of the boat, which floated off with them. Mr. Keiser 
got upon the carpenter's bench, and Mr. A. Logan, who had fallen 
into the water and sunk nearly to the bottom, on coming up, for- 
tunately caught hold of the way-plank, which formed a raft, and on 
which he floated down stream. Mr. Keiser soon came up with him, 
and leaving the work-bench joined him on his raft. They floated in 
company about eight miles, when, seeing a light on shore, they called 
for aid, and were taken up by a young man named Gibson, who con- 
veyed them to the house of Mr. Randolph, where they were kindly 
treated. One man swam with his hat and cloak on, until he reached 
the willows, when he deliberately relieved himself from the burthen of 
those outside garments, leaving them on the tree till next morning, 
and swimming safely to shore. Another passenger swam out with a 
small bag in his mouth, containing $3000 in gold, which proved of 
essential service to him ; for on getting hold of a plank, and throwing 
his arms over it, he found the weight of his specie, which he then 
carried in his hand, admirably calculated to preserve his equilibrium. 
One man was sick in his berth, and being told of the danger, observed 
that he was too weak to save himself from drowning, and appeared re- 
luctant to get up ; but on being reminded that his father was on board, 
and required his assistance, he sprang from his bed, and not only 
saved his own life, but was instrumental in saving others. A young 
married lady, when her husband was about recklessly to throw himself 
into the Mississippi, caught hold of him, and by her presence of mind 
took off some shutters and made a raft, upon which they both floated 
down the river, and were picked up by a skiff. 

The boat floated down the river a short distance and lodged near 
some willows, upon which many of the deck passengers clung till day- 
light, when they were relieved from their perilous situation. 

Scarcely any property was saved from the wreck ; a few trunks and 
other light things floated off, and were picked up. Some were pilfered 
by a mean wretch living in the neighborhood, named Charles Good- 
win, others were preserved and afterwards reclaimed by the owners. 
The survivors speak in the highest praise of Mrs. Blanton, formerly 
of Kentucky, who, in the absence of her husband, Mr. William Blan- 
ton, made every exertion for the comfort of the sufferers. By this 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 63 

disaster there were no less than sixty lives lost; the names of many will 
never be known. The following is a list as far as could be ascertained : 

Cabin Passengers Lost. — M. J. Nouvel, Lexington, Kentucky ; 
M. C. Pool, Baltimore; Mr. Maylin, Philadelphia; Mr. Caruthers, 
Tennessee ; Dr. Young, F. A. Boulton, Andrew Stone, Maryland ; 
Alexander Parkhurst, Mobile ; Daniel Ebert, P. Striker, A. Booker, 
John Roberts, Kentucky ; A. Perin, Alabama ; W. Ashwood, Penn- 
sylvania ; A. Harmer, New York ; Phillips, Mrs. Jenkins, 

Arthur Wendell, Massachusetts ; Thomas Rodgers, D. Hicks, C. 

Conley, Martin, Anshultz, A. Derrin, P. Watson, J. 

Williams, Andrew Hempstead, Texas ; and a lady, name unknown. 

Deck Passengers Lost. — George Saunders, Lexington, Kentucky; 
Samuel Cooper, David Knaw, John Curby, S. Hencely, John Stewart, 
John Kipler, Mrs. Mausker and child, Mr. Terley, James Bradford, 
and three negroes, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Walters, Miss Williams, Mr. 
and Miss Armstrong, Mobile, and three servants ; D. Fox, Mrs. 
Hooper, Andrews, and fifteen passengers, no names reported. 

This was one of the early disasters, and was the theme of conversa- 
tion for months after the fatal calamity. Indeed, people, for a long 
time after this accident, were almost afraid to go on a steamboat ; but 
it was soon forgotten in the narratives of the more heart-rendinor dis- 
asters that followed after, in rapid succession. 



EXPLOSION AND BURNING OF THE STEAMBOAT TECHE ON 
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, MAY 5TH, 1825. 

The S. B. Teche left Natchez on the evening of May 4th, 1825, 
heavily laden with cotton, and carrying about seventy passengers, 
many of whom came on board at the moment of departure, and were 
unknown to each other. Her course was down the river, and she pro- 
ceeded about ten miles, when the night became so excessively dark and 
hazy that her commander, Captain Campbell, deemed it unsafe to pro- 
ceed further, and concluded to come to anchor. At two o'clock on the 
following morning. May 5th, the anchor was weighed, and the steam 
having previously been raised, the boat had just begun to pursue hor 
voyage, when the passengers, many of whom had been sleeping in their 
berths, were startled by a shock which seemed sufficient to separate 
every plank and timber in the vessel, accompanied by a report which 
sounded like the discharge of a whole broadside of the heaviest artillery. 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI .— N 0.4. 

_ _^ Big Muddy 

Birmingham ... p^E= ' 



Sheffield Coal Ldg. 




Neely'3 Ldg. ^, 



Devil's Tea Table ::: 



Vancil's Ldg.!!?^^: 



Preston 
M Hodge's Ldg. 
'"Bennet's Ldg. 



Smith's Ldg.Hji^^^ ^ ^^ 

^^^^> Hamburg I. 

^gji" Hamburgh Ldg. 



Devil's I 




Cape Girardeau ;!ij 





'!f{ Thebes 




Commerce ^^s 




(gj, Sante Fee 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS 



65 



Every light on board was immediately extinguished, either by the escape 
of steam or the concussion of the air. As the day had not yet dawned, 
an impenetrable darkness now hung over the scene of the disaster, the 
extent of which could only be imagined by the affrighted and horrified 
crowd collected on the deck ; but at that moment of appalling danger, 
and still more dreadful uncertainty, w^as heard a cry that the boat was 
on lire ! Then followed a scene of indescribable confusion ; the pas- 




E X I' L S I O N AND B U U N I N G OF THE T E C U E . 

sengers, in the very insanity of terror, were rushing hither and thither, 
through the dense and ominous gloom, and many anticipated their doom 
in their erring endeavor to avoid it. 

Mr. Miller, of Kentucky, one of the surviving passengers, who 
afterwards published in a New Orleans paper a narrative of the events 
of this fearful night, states that when the alarm of fire was given, he 
attempted to go towards the bow, from whence the cry proceeded, but 
before he had advanced ten paces, he was precipitated down the hatch- 
way, (the hatches had been blown off by the explosion,) and after falling, 
fortunately on his feet, to the bottom of the hold, he found himself 
knee-deep in scalding water, which had been discharged from the frac- 
tured boiler. He would soon have perished in the suffocating vapor 
which filled the place, had not his cries for assistance been heard by 
some humane person on deck, who threw him the end of a rope, and 
thus enabled him to escape from his agonizing and perilous situation. 

By this time the flames began to ascend, illuminating the deck with 
a lurid glare which enabled the passengers to discern the means of 
escape which offeVed, though these means were made less available by 
the terror and confusion which prevailed. The yawl made several 
trips to the nearest shore, carrying off a load of passengers at each 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI .— N 0.5. 




omociTr 



Lloyd's STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 67 

trip : but as the flames began to extend rapiiUy over the deck, it was 
evident that all the people on board could not be saved in this way. 
In these circumstances, the Captain gave orders that bales of cotton 
should be thrown overboard, and on these many passengers were kept 
afloat until the boats finally took them ofT. 

But the last incident of this tragic narrative is one of the most dis- 
tressing. About three o'clock, a. m., the steamboat Washington, while 
passing up the river, was hailed by the survivors on board of the burn- 
ing vessel. The Washington promptly sent a boat to their assistance, 
and waited to receive them. All who remained on the Teche, (about 
twelve in number,) embarked in the Washington's boat; and now, 
assuring themselves of safety, they had reached the side of the steamer, 
when, by some unlucky accident, the small boat was upset, and every 
person on board, man, woman, and child, was drowned. It would seem 
that their inexorable fate had doomed them to destruction. 

The number of lives lost by this accident could never be ascertained. 
Several persons were instantly killed by the explosion, and others 
were so badly injured, by scalding, or otherwise, that they died soon 
afterwards. It is thought that not less than twenty or thirty were 
drowned. 



EXPLOSION OF THE STEAMBOAT GRAMPUS, OX THE 
MISSISSIPPI, AUGUST 12, 1828. 

The Grampus was engaged in towing three brigs and a sloop up to 
New Orleans, and was about nine miles from that city, when the ex- 
plosion took place. This accident was one of the most remarkable in 
the whole catalogue of steamboat disasters, on account of the extensive 
wreck which was made of the machinery. The boat had six boilers, 
all of which were blown to minute fragments. The same complete 
destruction was made of the flues, and various other parts of the steam 
apparatus; and the boat itself was, (as an eye witness reports,) " torn 
to pieces." 

The Captain, (Morrison,) and Mr. Wederstrand, a passenger, were 
sitting by the wheel at the time of the explosion ; both were blown to 
a part of the forward deck fi,fty feet distant, where they were after- 
wards found, very much bruised, among a mass of ruins. The pilot at 
the wheel was precipitated into the water and drowned. Another pilot, 
who was walking the deck aft of the wheel, had a leg broken,, and re- 
ceived other injuries, which caused his death. The brig in tow on the 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI . — N 0.6, 



Norfblkgl 



^i^^/llds. 2 3 & 4 



Wolf I 



^ Beckwiths Ldg. S 



!2; 




I. No. 6 



' V. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 69 

larboard side of the Grampus had both topmasts cut away by the frag- 
ments of the machinery, and her standing rigging was much damaged. 
A piece of the pipe fell across this brig's tiller, carried it away, and 
slightly injured the man at the helm. The brig on the other side of 
the steamer had her bottom perforated by a piece of the boiler. The 
other vessels, being astern, escaped without any damage. 

The cause of this accident requires particular notice. It appears, 
from the statement of a passenger, that the chief engineer had " turned 
in," leaving his assistant in charge of the engine. This assistant, as 
it is supposed, went to sleep at his post, after partially shutting off the 
water. The consequence was a deficiency of water in the boilers ; and 
the assistant engineer, on waking, when he discovered that the boilers 
were nearly exhausted, ignorantly, or imprudently, put the force- 
pumps in operation to furnish a supply. At this time the iron must 
have acquired a white heat, and the contact of the water produced such 
an excess of steam, that the explosion naturally followed. 

Killed, Wounded and Missing. — John Smith, a fireman, killed. 
George Brown, a Balize pilot, mortally wounded. One of the crew of 
the brig Anastasia, (name unknown,) killed. Another seaman, belong- 
ing to the same brig, badly wounded. William Taylor and John Har- 
den, much injured. Joseph Dryden, second engineer of the Grampus, 
missing (so reported, but undoubtedly killed). Thomas Dodd, steers- 
man, missing. Harry, Frank, Lay den and George Mooney, all blacks, 
missing. Charles Craig, badly wounded. Nine were killed on the 
spot, or died soon afterwards, in consequence of their injuries. Four 
others were wounded. 



EXPLOSION OF THE HELEN McGREGOR, AT MEMPHIS, 
TENNESSEE, FEBRUARY 24, 1830. 

The steamboat Helen McGregor, Capt. Tyson, on her way from 
New Orleans to Louisville, stopped at Memphis, on Wednesday morn- 
ing, February 24, 1830. She had been lying at the wharf about thirty 
minutes, when one or more of her boilers exploded, with the usual de- 
structive and melancholy effects. The loss of life by this accident was, 
at that time, unprecedented in the records of steam navigation. In the 
bustle incident to the landing and receiving of passengers, a part of 
the deck near the boilers was crowded with people, all of whom were 
either killed instantaneously, or more or less injured. No person in 
the cabins was hurt. The number of those who perished at the moment 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI . — N 0\ 7 . 




Lloyd's steamboat disasters, 



71 




EXPLOSION OP THE HELEN MOGREGOH, 1830. 

of tlie explosion is variously estimated at from thirty to sixty. As 
many of them were strangers whose homes were far distant, and whose 
bodies were never recovered from the water, into which they were pro- 
jected, it is very plain that an accurate account of the number of the 
victims is not to be expected. 

The following report of the killed and wounded is the most complete 
and reliable that could be obtained : — 

Killed. — Richard Hancock, of Louisville, Kentucky ; A. Van Mee- 
ter, Hardin County, Tennessee; Mr. Talbot, of Long Beach, Ohio; 
James Bledso, Kentucky ; Mr. Carrol, Cincinnati, Ohio ; Edward P. 
Beadles, Clark County, Indiana ; J. Dunn, Tennessee ; G. B. Giles, 
Cincinnati ; Ephraim Goble, Brookville, Indiana ; John Delaney, colored ; 
William Ewing, Clark County, Indiana ; William Stockwell, Salem, In- 
diana ; Solomo% Jones, Maysville, Kentucky; J. Reaves, Harrison 
County, Indiana ; Lewis Young, colored ; Jack, a colored boy, twelve 
years old. 

Badly Wounded. — George Trey, Tipton County, Tennessee; John 
Cameron, Clark County, Indiana ; Joshua Richardson, Indiana ; John 
Valentine, Massachusetts; Mr. De Haven, Philadelphia; John Leland, 
a pilot; J. Sugg, Union County, Kentucky; John Fclchen, New York; 
R. Bailey, firm of Bell, Hardin & Co., Tennessee; H. Heldrith, Madi- 
son County, Indiana; John Addisson, one of the crew; Thomas Dren- 
ard, Wilson County, Tennessee ; J. Swan, Orange County, Indiana ; 
J. Tenyck, Shippingsport, Kentucky ; William Case, New York. 

Slightly Wounded. — Capt. Tyson, commander of the Helen 
McGregor; Turner, engineer ; P. O'Daniel, Indiana; T. L. Know- 



MAP OP THE MIS srsSIPPl.— NO. 8. 




■:-:^\r 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 73 

land, Ohio ; J. Monaco, Tipton County, Tennessee ; John Coons, Clark 
County, Indiana ; "William Pottorff, Clark County, Indiana ; John 
Dougherty, Overton County, Tennessee ; Thomas Bank, Lawrence 
County, Indiana; Green Williams, colored fireman. 



EXPLOSION OP THE STEAMBOAT EOB ROY OX THE 
MISSISSIPPI, JUNE 9TII, 1836. 

The Rob Roy was on her route from New Orleans to Louisville, and 
•was under way, at 8 o'clock P. M, June 9th, 1836, near the town of 
Columbia, Arkansas, when the fatal catastrophe we are about to record 
took place. The engine was stopped for the purpose oi oiling some 
part of the machinery ; and although this necessary operation did not 
occupy more than two minutes, the accumulation of steam was sufficient 
to cause an explosion. As soon as the accident occurred, preparations 
were made to run the boat ashore, which was happily reached within a 
few minutes. By this judicious measure many lives were undoubtedly 
saved. None were lost by drowning, and the only victims and sufferers 
were those who were killed or wounded at the moment of the explosion. 
The clerk of the boat, a few days after the accident, furnished the fol- 
lowing account of the killed and wounded, which he certified to be cor- 
rect, adding, that some of those reported among the wounded had since 
died, and others were not expected to recover. 

Killed : — John O'Brian, Michael Bregan, John Cavenaugh, (Irish,) 
\Vm. Lynd, of Cincinnati, P. W. Banton, Madison, Indiana, Jane Vin- 
cent, Highland Creek, four men, names unknown, passengers; Levi 
Jackson, Jeffei^onville, J. Shane, Louisville, Felix Davis, Jefferson ville, 
George Williams, Cincinnati, two colored men, names not mentioned. 
Total of killed, 17. 

Scalded : — Wm. Spear, Pittsburgh, badly, John Gebhard Irishman, 
do., Henry Snodgrass, Parke county, Indiana, Levi Ilamblin, De- 
boyne, Mr. Hentry, Louisville, W. Southworth, New York, E. Ford, 
Boston, Richard Fulton, Indiana, Wm. Reagan, Scott county, Mis- 
souri, R. A. Braden, Lawrence county, Tennessee, Mrs. Barade and 
two children of ditto, W. W. Creary, Scott county Missouri, Tilden 
Hogg, Randolph. 



74 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



TERRIFIC EXPLOSION OF THE STEAMBOAT BEN FRANKLIN, 
AT MOBILE, ALABAMA, MARCH 13, 1836. 

The steamboat Ben Franklin, on the day of this awful occurrence, 
was backing out from her wharf at Mobile, in order to make 
her regular trip to Montgomery. Scarcely had she disengaged 
herself from the wharf, when the explosion took place, pro- 
ducing a concussion which seemed to shake the whole city to its foun- 
dations. The entire population of Mobile, alarmed by the terrific 
detonation, was drawn to the spot to witness a spectacle which must 
have harrowed every soul with astonishment and horror. This fine 
boat, which had on that very morning floated so gallantly on the bosom 



-t0f^.^ /W^-. 




EXPLOSION OF THE BEN FKANKLIN, 1836. 

of the lake, was now a shattered wreck, while numbers of her 
passengers and crew were lying on the decks, either motionless and 
mutilated corpses, or agonized sufferers panting and struggling in the 
grasp of death. Many others had been hurled overboard at the mo- 
ment of the explosion, and such were the numbers of drowning people 
who called for assistance, that the crowd of sympathising spectators 
were distracted and irresolute, not knowing where or how to begin the 
work of rescue. Many — how many, it is impossible to say — perished 
in the turbid waters before any human succor could reach them. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 75 

Apart from the loss of life, which at that time was unexampled, the 
destruction produced bj this accident was very extensive. The boiler- 
deck, the boilers, the chimneys, and other parts of the machinery, 
besides much of the lading, were blown overboard and scattered into 
fragments over the wharf and the surface of the river. Mr. Isaac 
Williams, a passenger, was blown at least one hundred feet high in the 
air, and his dead body fell into the water, about one hundred and fifty 
yards from the boat. 

The cause of the accident is believed to have been a deficiency of 
water in the boiler. The boat was inuired to that degree that repairs 
were out of the question, and she was never afterwards brought into 
service. 

The usual uncertainty attends the estimated number of lives lost by 
this calamity. Many of those who perished, had just entered the boat, 
and had not registered their names ; and, among the mangled corpses, 
not a few retained scarcely any vestige of the human form, so that the 
identification of particular persons was impossible. We have, after 
much research, obtained the following list of the sufferers, which we 
believe to be the most complete account ever published. 

Killed. — Robert Brinkley, pilot ; Isaac Williams, of Wilcox Coun- 
ty, Kentucky; James Purnell, William Jones, Jacob Patty, firemen; 
James Ilulson, Isaac Flannegin, deck hands; Mr. Martin, of North 
Carolina ; S. G. Simpson, carpenter ; Thomas Cravin, cabin-boy ; three 
colored men, names unknown ; two slaves of Mr. S. B. Heade, and 
one of Mrs. Terry. 

Badly Wounded. — Captain H. A. Leade ; R. G. Gordon, of Mo- 
bile ; Colonel R. Singleton, of Baldwin County, Alabama ; Capt. Scuddy, 
James Flommen, Clark Cdunty, Indiana; E. H. Dickerson, Montgomery; 
Mr. Godfrey, Washington ; Joseph Thompson, William Jacobson, first 
and second engineers ; Mr. Thompson, of Columbus, Ohio ; Miss Nor- 
ris and slave, of INIobile. 

Slightly WouNDED.^Samuel Murphy, bar-keeper ; Dr. Tunstall, 
Mount Vernon ; Thomas Tony, deck hand ; William Hyde, Baldwin 
County, Alabama ; J. A. Wiggins, Claiborne. 

The citizens of Mobile, with their customary humanity and gene- 
rosity, took the wounded in charge, and did every thing in their power 
to mitigate their sufferings. 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI . — N 0.9, 





RAHLOIPM 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 77 



EXPLOSION OF THE DUBUQUE, AUGUST 15, 1837. 

This distressing accident, by which sixteen persons were instantly 
killed, and several others were badly scalded, took place on the Missis- 
sippi, while the boat was on her voyage from St. Louis to Galena. The 
locality of the dreadful event was off Muscatine Bar, eight miles below 
Bloomington. The Dubuque was running under a moderate pressure 
of steam at the time, when the flue of ""the larboard boiler, probably on 
account of some defect in the material or workmanship, collapsed, 
throwing a torrent of scalding water over the deck. The pilot imme- 
diatel}' steered for the shore and effected a landing. 

When the consternation and dismay occasioned by the explosion had 
in some measure subsided. Captain Smoker, the commander of the Du- 
buque, and such of his crew as were not disabled by this accident, made 
their way, with considerable difficulty, through the ruins to the after- 
part of the boiler-deck, when it was found that the whole of the freight, 
and every other article which had been there deposited, was cleared 
off and wafted far away into the water. The unfortunate deck passen- 
gers, together with the cooks and several of the crew, Avere severely 
scalded, either by the hot water or escaped steam. Many of these 
wretched people, in their agony, fled to the shore, uttering the most 
appalling shrieks, and tearing off their clothes, which in some cases 
brought away the skin, and even the flesh, with them. Humanity 
shudders at the recollection of the scene. It was several hours before 
any of them died; nor could medical relief be obtained until a boat, 
which had been despatched to Bloomington, returned with several phy- 
sicians who resided at that place. At 10 o'clock, P. M., eight hours 
after the explosion, the steamboat Adventure, Captain Van Housen, 
came up with tlie wreck, and took it in tow as far as Bloomington. 

The following is a list of the sufferers as far as ascertained : 

Killed : — John Littleton, second engineer ; he was badly wounded 
in the head by a piece of iron, a part of the flue, and survived about 
three hours ; Isaac Deal, of Pittsburgh, fireman ; Felix Pope, Kaskas- 
kia ; Charles Kelly, deck hand, from Ohio; Noah Owen, Quincy; 
Jesse Johnson, colored cook, thrown overboard and drowned ; Benjamin 
Muscr, another colored cook. The rest of the killed were deck pas- 
sengers, viz: James C. Carr, St. Clair county, Illinois ; George Mc- 
Murtry, Francis Pleasant, colored, Henry A. Carr, John C. Hamil- 
ton, Joseph Brady, and John Boland, of Dubuque ; Joseph L. Sams, 



MAP OF THE MIS SIS SIP PI.— NO. 10. 




Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 79 

and L. B. Sams, of Clay county, Illinois ; Martin Shouglmolioy, St. 
Louis ; George Clix, of Galena ; David Francour, Frenchman ; wife 
and child of Michael Shanghnessy. 

M. Shanghnessy, the husband and father of the two victims last 
mentioned, was badly scalded, but survived. Three other deck pas- 
sengers, young men, names unknown, are supposed to have been thrown, 
overboard and drowned ; and it is strongly suspected that others beside 
these perished in the same manner. 



CAPSIZE OF THE HORNET, JUNE 2, 1832. 

On the night of Saturday, June 2d, 1832, the steamboat Hornet, 
Captain Sullivan, while ascending the Ohio river on her way to Ka- 
nawha, and when about thirty-three miles above Maysville, Kentucky, 
encountered a sudden and violent gale blowing from the southwest, and 
immediately capsized. Exclusive of the persons belonging to the boat, 
there were forty-two people on board, viz : twelve cabin and thirty deck 
passengers, nearly half of whom were drowned. The Hornet righted 
soon after the disaster, and was towed to the nearest port, Concord, by 
the steamboat Guyandotte, Captain Davis Embree. 

Of the twenty persons drowned by this accident, all the names which 
have been preserved are comprised in the following list : 

Thomas Duvall, of Muskingum, Ohio ; Messrs. Le Clerc and Perot, 
two French gentlemen of New Orleans ; Mrs. Garrett, of Greenups- 
burgh," Kentucky ; Mr. Blackstone, of Guyandotte; Wm. H. Colbert, 
of Kingston ; and two colored women, slaves belonging to passengers. 

Of the boats crew. Captain Sullivan, master ; John Johnston, pilot, 
of Gallipolis ; Edward Jones, a sailor, of Cincinnati ; a chambermaid 
and a female cook, both colored. 








(80) 



SKETCH OF WHEELING. 



Wbeelikg, Virginia, is situated on the east bank of the Ohio river, in Ohio conntj, and on 
both sides of the Wheeling creek, ninety-two miles below Pittsburgh, three hundred and 
sixty-five miles above Cincinnati, three hundred and fifty miles northwest of Richmond, 
and about six hundred and thirty feet above the level of the sea; lat. 40° 7' N., long. 80° 
42' W. The site is a narrow, alluvial tract, oviJVlooked by precipitous hills, and extending 
two miles along the river. Wheeling is a port of entry, and is the most important place on the 
Ohio river between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati ; and in respect to commerce, manufactures 
and population, the most considerable city of western Virginia, and next to the largest in that 
State. The hills that rise in the immediate vicinity contain inexhaustible beds of coal, which 
supply fuel at a small expense to the numerous manufactories of Wheeling. This city has eight 
iron foundries, seven forges, six manufactories of nails, ten of glassware, five or six of cotton 
goods, five of paper, three of steam-engines, three of silk goods, and several of wire. Flour, 
woollen goods, white lead, and many other articles are produced here. Numerous large 
steamboats are annually built at Wheeling, some of which are equal in speed, comfort and 
safety to any boats floating on the western waters ; about sixty of them arc owned here, with 
an aggregate tonnage of twenty-four thousand. It contains a fine court house, twenty 
churches, several excellent academies, four banks, the aggregate capital of which is two 
millions of dollars. Five or six newspapers are published here. The city is supplied with 
water raised from the river by machinery. The national road crosses the river at Zano's 
island, opposite the city, by the most stupendous wire suspension bridge in the world, the 
span of which is of unequalled length, measuring one thousand and ten feet ; the height of 
the towers on either side are one hundred and fifty-three feet above low water mark, and sixty 
feet above the abutments. The bridge is supported by twelve wire cables, each one thousand 
three hundred and eighty feet in length, and four inches in diameter. The cost of this im- 
mense structure is estimated at two hundred and twenty-fire thousand dollars. When this 
magnificent bridge was first thrown : ross the Ohio river it created a great deal of excitement 
among the citizens of Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh steamboatmen. It was considered an 
obstruction to navigation, and various lawsuits were immediately instituted against the com- 
pany to compel the removal of it. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decided that it mu^t 
come down. At this stage of the proceedings Congress took it up, and passed an act making 
it a post route, which silenced all further clamor. The accompanyingdaguerrean view of Wheeling 
and the bridge is the most accurate ever taken. Wheeling became the capital of Ohio county 
in 1797, and is celebrated as being the site of fort Henry, which was besieged in September, 
1777, by a party of nearly five hundred Indians, led on by the notorious Simon Qirty. It was 
manfully defended by only forty-two men, of whom twenty-three were killed ; and the Indians, 
after fighting all day, were compelled to retire, with a loss of one hundred. In 1802 it con- 
tained about seventy-five houses. Population in 1820, one thousand six hundred ; in 1830, six 
thousand ; iu 18-10, eight thousand ; in 1850, thirteen thousand ; and in 1856, twenty thousand. 

« (81) 



82 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS, 



EXPLOSION OF THE ENTERPRISE, NEAR CHARLESTON, S.C, 

SEPT. 10, 1816. 

4 In tlie midst of a furious thunder-storm, accompanied by a heavy- 
fall of rain, the steamboat Enterprise, Capt. Howard, was making her 
way up the river, at nine o'clock, P. M., (having but a few minutes 
before stopped to land some passengers on Sullivan's island,) when the 
boiler exploded, killing eight persons instantly, and Avounding five or 
six others, with various degrees of severity. Fortunately, a majority 
of the passengers had crowded iffto the cabin to avoid the rain ; this 
circumstance, no doubt, was the means of saving many persons from a 
horrible death ; a fate to which nearly all who remained on deck were 
subjected. The noise of the explosion was so very slight, as to be 
scarcely noticed by the people collected in the cabin ; and they were 
first made aware of the accident by hearing the hissing sound of the 
hot water which escaped from the boiler, and the shrieks of the per- 
sons on deck who had been scalded or otherwise burnt. 

There were about seventy passengers on board the Enterprise, and 
providentially no women or children. Several of the persons whose 
deaths are reported below, were killed by pieces of the boiler and flue, 
some of which were blown to a great distance. Others were scalded 
to death, or badly burned by the ignited fuel from the furnace, which 
was scattered in every direction, knocking some of the people down, 
and overwhelming them, as it were, in a whirlpool of fire. The night 
was made hideous by the cries and groans of the sufferers, which rose 
above the din of the warring elements. 

At the time, of the accident, the steamer was fortunately not more 
than one hundred yards from the Island, from whence boats were im- 
mediately despatched to the scene of destruction, to afford that assist- 
ance which the situation of the passengers and crew required. All the 
survivors, including the wounded, were conveyed to the Island, where 
they were provided with such accommodations as their condition 
demanded and circumstances would admit of. 

Some difference of opinion existed with respect to the cause of this 
accident. Captain Howard, master of the boat, and some of the pas- 
sengers, held the opinion that the flue was struck by lightning, which 
being conducted by the metallic tube down to the boiler, shivered the 
latter to fragments. In opposition to this opinion, it is alleged that 
salt water was used for the purpose of raising steam, and as the boiler 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 83 

was composed of cast iron and not of copper, an . explosion, according • 
to the theory of skilful engineers, was inevitable. 

As stated above, eight persons lost their lives by this accident. Their 
names, with one exception, Mr. Robbs, were never published. Three 
of those killed were colored men. Four of the crew, not included in 
the above statement, were so severely burned that their lives were 
despaired of, and it is probable that they died soon after. 



COLLISION OF THE POL.VNDER AND HORNET, APRIL 19, 1832. 

The Polander, Captain Menaugh, had just left the wharf at Cincin- 
nati, about eight o'clock, P. M., the night being dark and foggy, when 
she encountered the Hornet, which was coming into port. Both ves- 
sels were considerably injured, and the Captain of the Hornet was 
crushed to death. One of the crew of the same vessel was severely 
wounded. No further particulars have been published. 



EXPLOSION AND BURNING OF THE LIONESS, ON RED RIVER, 

MAY 19, 1833. 

The destruction of the Lioness was caused by the explosion of several 
barrels of gunpowder, which were stowed, among other freight, in the 
hold. The accident, therefore, cannot be attributed to any defect in 
the steam apparatus, or to any mismanagement thereof. The catas- 
trophe took place at an early hour, on a calm and beautiful Sabbath 
morning in spring. Many of the passengers had not left their berths. 
Among those that had embarked in the Lioness at New Orleans, were 
the Hon. Josiah S. Johnston, of the United States Senate, and several 
other distinguished citizens of Louisiana. The boat was commanded 
by Capt. William L. Cockerell ; her place of destination was Nachito- 
ches, on Red river. She had accomplished a considerable part of the 
voyage, and reached the north of a small stream called Ragolet Bon 
JJieu, when, on the morning referred to above, the mate and several 
of the crew were arranging some part of the cargo in the hold ; and 
as the place was dark, they found it necessary to use a lighted candle. 
It is conjectured that a spark from the candle, in some way, found ac- 
cess to one of the kegs of powder ; but as every person who had been 
at work in the hold was killed by the explosion, the mode in which the 
powder became ignited could never be ascertained. It is reported that 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI . — N 0.11, 



;V!.\ir 



F^O FORI 

?^ P!CKEBI\0 



iTPRESlDEiiTS 



\C0W L 



CAT I. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 



85 




EXPLOSION AMD BURNIMO OF THE LIONESS. 

some articles of a very combustible nature, such as crates containing a 
quantity of dry straw and several casks of oil, were stowed in danger- 
ous proximity to the powder. It was stated by some of the passengers 
that three distinct explosions were heard. The fore-cabin, the boiler 
deck, and the hold immediately under them, were literally torn to 
pieces, and the fragments were scatteted over the surrounding waters 
to a surprising distance. A part of the hurricane deck and a portion 
of the lady's cabin were likewise detached ; and this proved to be a 
favourable circumstance, as the hull almost immediately sunk, and, in 
all likelihood, every female on board, and many other persons, Avould 
have been drowned, had they not been sustained on the detached 
pieces of the wreck just spoken of. As it was, all the women were 
saved ; and the loss of life, though terrible enough indeed, was less 
than might have been expected, in view of all the circumstances of the 
disaster. The hull of the vessel was on fire almost from stem to stern, 
at the time she went down. All of the crew and passengers who sur- 
vived, saved themselves by swimming, or were floated to the shore on 
fragments of the wreck. The names of the sufferers, as far as they 
could be ascertained, are given below. 

Drowned, or Killed by the Explosion. — Hon. Josiah S. John- 
ston, Member of Congress, of Louisiana ; B. Riggs, Esq., Michael 
Boyce, Esq., of Alexandria, Louisiana ; Michael Clifford, New Orleans ; 
n. Hertz and Thomas Irwin, a deck passenger, of Texas ; John Coley, 
mate of the Lioness, Louisville ; John Clarke, Englishman, steward of 
the same ; Samuel Landis, William Kant, James Folsome, sailors; 
another sailor, name unknown ; Mary Anderson, chambermaid ; Alex- 
ander, colored cook ; and a colored servant belonging to one of the 
passengers. 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI .— N . 12 , 



Council I. 




Battle I 



St. Francis 



St. Frauds K 



Lloyd's sxEAiiBOAT disasters. 87 

Wounded. — Josiah Johnston, Jr., son of the Hon. J. S. Johnston, 
mentioned in the list of killed ; lion. Edward D. White, of Louisiana ; 
Henry Boyce, Esq., Mr. Dunbar (badly hurt), of Alexandria, Louisi- 
ana ; J. n. Graham, New Orleans ; Michael Colgcn, J. V. Bossier, 
M. Rupen, of Natchitoches ; Isaac Wright, Pilot ; John Roberts, en- 
gineer ; John Rogers, sailor ; and two firemen, names unknown. 



EXPLOSION OF THE BLACK HAWK, DECEMBER 27, 1837. 

This awful calamity, which hurried more than fifty human beings into 
eternity, occurred on a cold wintry night, Avhile the Black Hawk was 
about to ascend the Red river, on her passage from Natchez to Natchi- 
toches. The boat had a full load of passengers and freight, including 
ninety thousand dollars in specie belonging to the United States 
government. She had just reached the mouth of Red river, when the 
boiler exploded, blowing off all the upper works forward of the wheels. 
The pilot and engineer were instantly killed. 

The number of passengers on board is stated to have been about one 
hundred, nearly half of whom were women and children. No estimate 
of the number killed was ever published, but it appears from the best 
accounts we have that a majority of the passengers and crew perished. 
A large proportion of the passengers on western steamboats are persons 
from distant parts of the country, or emigrants, perhaps, from the old 
world, whose journeyings are unknown to their friends, and whose fate 
often excites no inquiry. When such persons are the victims of a 
steamboat calamity, their names, and frequently their numbers, are 
beyond all powers of research. So it appears to have been in the case 
now under consideration. Instead of a list of the slain, we are fur- 
nished only with a catalogue of the survivors, and these, alas, appear 
to have been merely a forlorn remnant. The only cabin passenger 
•whose name is mentioned in the list of killed furnished by the clerk, 
was Mr. Dclislc, of Natchez. Among the deck passengers, fifteen were 
known to be lost, three others died soon after the explosion, one was 
observed to sink while attempting to swim ashore, and twelve more were 
scalded severely, and fifteen slightly. A subsequent account added to 
the above list of killed Mrs. Delancey and her three children, of Bos- 
ton ; Dr. Van Bantz, drowned, and Wm. Tolling, who Avns mortally 
■wounded and died within a few hours. The latest and most authentic 
account stated that not less than fifty persons must have perished by 



MAP OF THE MIS SISSIPPI.— NO. 13 



No 60 




Mo B4 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 89 

the explosion of the Black Hawk. The crew of the boat suffered to a 
considerable extent. The pilot was blown overboard and lost. Henry 
Sligh, colored engineer, was killed. George Johnson, another engineer, 
was dangerously wounded. Felix Ray, barkeeper, was very badly 
scalded. Four firemen were killed, and one was wounded. Two deck 
hands were killed. The cook, steward, and cabin boy were all danger- 
ously wounded. Two slaves belonging to Mr. Duffield were drowned. 
After the explosion, the wreck, being all in flames, floated fifteen 
miles down the stream, and then sunk. Some of the passengers were 
taken off the burning wreck by a flat-boat. It is mentioned that the 
females on board of the Black Hawk rendered essential service by 
baling and assisting to extinguish the flames. A part of the cargo and 
seventy-five thousand dollars of the specie were saved. Several valuable 
horses, which had been shipped at Natchez, were drowned. 



EXPLOSION OF THE MOSELLE, NEAR CINCINNATI, OHIO, 
APRIL 25, 1838. 

We are now about to relate the particulars Off an event which seemed 
for a time to shroud the whole country in mourning ; an event which 
is still believed to be almost without a parallel in the annals of steam- 
boat calamities. The Moselle was regarded as the very paragon of 
western steamboats ; she was perfect in form and construction, elegant 
and superb in all her equipments, and enjoyed a reputation for 
speed which admitted of no rivalship. Her commander and proprietor, 
Capt. Perrin, was a young gentleman of great ambition »nd enterprise, 
who prided himself, above all things, in that celebrity which his boat 
had acquired, and who resolved to maintain, at all hazards, the char- 
acter of the Moselle as " the swiftest steamboat in America." This 
character she unquestionably deserved ; for her " quick trips" were 
without competition at that time, and are rarely equalled at the present 
day. To give two examples : — her first voyage from Portsmouth 
to Cincinnati, a distance of one hundred and ten miles, was made in 
seven hours and fifty-five minutes ; and her last trip, from St. Louis to 
Cincinnati, seven hundred and fifty-miles, was performed in two days 
and sixteen hours ; the quickest trip, by several hours, that had ever 
been made between the two places. 

On the afternoon of April 25, 1838, between four and five o'clock, 
the Moselle left the landing at Cincinnati, bound for St. Louis, with 
an unusually large number of passengers, supposed to be not less than 



90 



LLOYD S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS, 



two hundred and eighty, or, according to some accounts, three hundred. 
It was a pleasant afternoon, and all on board probably anticipated a 
delightful voyage. Passengers continued to crowd in up to the mo- 
ment of departure, for the superior accommodations of this steamer, and 
her renown as the finest and swiftest boat on the river, were great 
attractions for the travelling public, with whom safety is too often but 
a secondary consideration. The Moselle proceeded about a mile up 
tlie river to take on some German emigrants. At this time, it was ob- 
served by an experienced engineer on board that the steam had been 
raised to an unusual height ; and when the boat stopped for the pur- 
pose just mentioned, it was reported that one man, who was appre- 
hensive of danger, went ashore, after protesting against the injudicious 
management of the steam apparatus. When the object for which the 
Moselle had landed was accomplished, the bow of the boat was shoved 




EXPLOSION or THE MOSELLE, 



from the shore, and at that instant the explosion took place. The 
whole of the vessel forward of the wheels was blown to splinters ; every 
timber, (as an eye witness declares,) " appeared to be twisted, as trees 
sometimes are when struck by lightning." As soon as the accident 
occurred, the boat floated down the stream for about one hundred 
yards, where she sunk, leaving the upper part of the cabin out of 
the water, and the baggage, together with many struggling human 
beings, floating on the surface of the river. 

It was remarked that the force of the explosion was unprecedented in 
the history of steam ; its eff"ect was like that of a mine of gunpowder. 
All the boilers, four in number, burst simultaneously ; the deck was 
blown into the air, and the human beings who crowded it were doomed 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 91 

to instant destruction. Fragments of the boiler and of human bodies 
were thrown both to the Kentucky and Ohio shores, although the dis- 
tance to the former was a quarter of a mile. Captain Pcrrin, master 
of the Moselle, at the time of the accident was standing on the deck, 
above the boiler, in conversation with another person. lie was thrown 
to a considerable height on the steep embankment of the river and 
killed, Avhile his companion was merely prostrated on the deck, and 
escaped without injury. Another person was blown to the distance of 
a hundred yards, with such force, according to the report of a reliable 
witness, that his head and a part of his body penetrated the roof of 
a house. Some of the passengers who were in the after part of the 
boat, and who were uninjured by the explosion, jumped overboard. 
An eye-wdtncss says that he saw sixty or seventy in the water at one 
time, of whom not a dozen reached the shore. 

It happened, unfortunately, that the larger number of the passengers 
were collected on the upper deck, to which the balmy air and delicious 
weather seemed to invite them in order to expose them to more certain 
destruction. It was understood, too, that the captain of this ill-fated 
steamer had expressed his determination to outstrip an opposition boat 
which had just started ; the people on shore were cheering the Moselle 
in anticipation of her success in the race, and the passengers and crew 
on the upper deck responded to these acclamations, which were soon 
changed to sounds of mourning and distress. 

Intelligence of the awful calamity spread rapidly through the city ; 
thousands rushed to the spot, and the most benevolent aid was promptly 
extended to the sufferers, or, as we should rather say, to such as were 
within the reach of human assistance, for the majority had perished. 
A gentleman who was among those who hastened to the wreck, declares 
that he witnessed a scene so sad and distressing that no languat^e can 
depict it with fidelity. On the shore lay twenty or thirty manf^led 
and still bleeding corpses ; while many persons were engaged in draf^- 
ging others of the dead or wounded from the wreck or the water. But, 
says the same witness, the survivors presented the most touching 
objects of distress, as their mental anguish seemed more insupportable 
than the most intense bodily suffering. Death had torn asunder the 
most tender ties ; but the rupture had been so sudden and violent that 
none knew certainly who had been taken or who had been spared. 
Fathers were distractedly inquiring for children, children for parents, 
husbands and wives for each other. One man had saved a son, but 
lost a wife and five children. A father, partially demented by grief, 
lay with a wounded child on one side, his dead daughter on the other, 



92 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

and his expiring wife at his feet. One gentleman sought his wife and 
children who were as eagerly seeking him in the same crowd. They 
met, and were re-united ! ^ 

A female deck passenger who had been saved, seemed inconsolable 
for the loss of her relatives. Her constant exclamations were, " Oh 
my father ! my mother I my sisters !" A little boy, about five yearl 
old, whose head was much bruised, appeared to be regardless of his 
wounds and cned continually for a lost father; while another lad, a 
little older, was weeping for his whole family. \ 

One venerable looking man wept for the loss of a wife and five chil- 
dren. Another was bereft of his whole family, consisting of nine per- 
sons. A touching display of maternal aifection was evinced by a lady, 
who on being brought to the shore, clasped her hands and exclaimed 
/hank God, I am safe!" but instantly recollecting herself, she 
ejaculated in a voice of piercing agony, "Where is my child ?" The 
infant, which had also been saved, was brought to her, and she fainted 
at tne sight oi it. 

Many of the passengers who entered the hoat at Cincinnati had not 
registered their names ; but the lowest estimated number of persons on 

be \mT«r «"'"' "'* "^"^ ' °' "'^^^' ^'S'-'y-™^ *«- tnowa to 
be killed, fifty-five were missing, and thirteen badly wounded. It re- 
mains for us to give the names of the sufferers, as far as they could be 
ascertained; but this list, although we have searched every record 
of the accident, for reasons which have already been explained is still 
lar trora complete. 

KiLLEi-.-Elijah North, of Alton, Illinois; Miss JIary Parker 
(drowned ) and B. Furmon, merchant, Middletown, Ohio; Job Jones, of' 
Loudon County, Virginia; B. Mitchell, barkeeper, of Cincinniti ; 
Capt. Perrm master of the Moselle; J. Chapman, second clerk; T. 

L!sT '° rM '•^'"'™^'^' ^- ^- ^''^^y' »f Cincinnati; 
Jame Barnet, of Missouri ; Calvin R. Stone, of Shrewsbury, Massa! 
ehuset 3 ; James Douglass, of Fort Madison, Wisconsin ; J. Williams 
colored; Henry Stokes, second steward; Holly Dillon, fireman; J.' 
Madder first engineer ; Robert AVatt, deck hand ; E. Dunn, chamber- 
maid^ James B McFarland, Knox County, Ohio ; Miss Dunham ; J. 
M. Watkins, of Virginia ; M. Thomas, first mate; A. Burns, of piila- 
delphia Pennsylvania; Halsey Williams, second engineer; a child of 
P. Troutman; G. Kramer's wife and five children; J. Flemin. pilot 
(body blown to the opposite side of the river,) and J. Dillon, "'jlny 
whose names are inserted under the head of "missing" may properly 
be added to this list. A large number of those wht per^h'ed w I 
Irish and German emigrants, whose names are unknown 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 93 

Badly Wounded. — William 11. Inskecp, St. Clairsville, Ohio ; Mr. 
Sherwood, of Cincinnati ; Benjamin Bowman, first clerk ; James Tyr- 
rell, deck hand ; De Jaune, fireman ; Stephen Bailey, carpenter ; 

Isaac Van Hook ; a brother of Capt. Perrin ; D. Higbee, of Cayuga 
County, New York ; Edward Sexton ; Mr. Teed, of Worcester, Mas- 
sachusetts ; Franklin, second cook ; James Fry, third cook. 

Missing. — Lieut. Col. Fowl, U. S. A ; two children of George Kra- 
mer ; Wm. Parker's wife and two children. Dr. II. Iluey, U. S. A. ; 
Joseph Swift, Buffalo, N. Y. ; Joseph Fotler, Filbain Fotler, Grechan 
Fotler, and Jacob Fotler, of Boston, Mass. ; John Beaver, Joseph Bea- 
ver, Eva Beaver, Mary Beaver, Jacob Beaver, and several children of 
Joseph and Eva Beaver ; a child of Peter Trautman, aged two and a 
half years ; Thomas Watt, a deck hand ; Michael Kennedy's wife and 
two children ; D. Iligbee's wife and two children ; E. Raymond, wife 
and child, of Baltimore, Md. ; John Endig and John Leim, and the 
wife and child of each ; John Tyree, St. Louis ; Pay ton Bird, fireman ; 
John Anderson ; Mr. Weber and three children ; J. Weaver, St. Louis ; 
Wilson Burrows, deck hand ; Mr. Fox, first clerk ; J. Duncan, wife and 
two children ; M. Manning and J. Lander, from Ireland ; Wm. Dough- 
erty, G. Weaver, D. Brackwell. 

On the day after the accident a public meeting was called at Cincin- 
nati, at which the Mayor presided, when the facts of this melancholy 
occurrence were discussed, and among other resolutions passed was one 
deprecating " the great and increasing carelessness in the navigation 
of steam vessels," and urging this subject upon the consideration of Con- 
gress. No one denied that this sad event, which caused so much con- 
sternation, suffering, and sorrow, was the result of a reckless and 
criminal inattention to their duty on the part of those who had the 
management of the Moselle, nor was there any attempt to palliate their 
conduct. 

The Moselle was built at Cincinnati, and she reflected great credit 
on the mechanical genius of that city, as she was truly a superior boat, 
and, under more favorable auspices, might have been the pride of the 
waters for many years. She was quite a new boat, having been begun 
on the 1st of December, 1838, and finished on the 31st of March, less 
than one month before the time of her destruction. 



MAP OP THE MISSISSIP PI._NO. 14, 



N6 65"^^^ 




MOMr.OMEP.V/Gi 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 95 



EXPLOSION OF THE CHARITOX, JULY 28, 1837. 

Soon after niglitfall, the Chariton put out from the wharf at 
St. Louis, and when she had run about fifty yards up the river, one of 
her boilers exploded, by which accident nine persons on board were 
badly hurt ; but, happily, no lives were lost. A gentleman, who was a 
resident of St. Louis at that time, states that when he heard the noise 
of the explosion, he hastened down to the wharf, when tlie first object 
which attracted his attention was a colored man, who had just been 
brought to the shore in a boat. He had been taken out of the river, 
into which he and several other persons had been thrown at the time 
of the accident. He was badly scalded, and also much cut and bruised, 
and bled profusely. Soon another boat arrived, with two white men 
in a similar condition, who had also been rescued from the water. The 
appearance of one of these was especially frightful. Every visible part 
of his body, (to use the language of the narrator,) " was scorched and 
burned to a crisp ; his eyes were put out, and his head was literally 
roasted !" Though it was stated that no lives were lost by the acci- 
dent, it is scarcely possible that this man, so dreadfully injured, could 
have long survived. On the boiler-deck of the Chariton, two other 
wounded men were extended ; one of them, the chief engineer, had 
been completely overwhelmed by the torrent of scalding water which 
the boiler had disgorged. He continually uttered the most affecting 
entreaties to the bystanders " to kill him at once, and put him out of his 
misery !" The usual applications of oil, kc, seemed to afford no relief. 

The person who gives this account seems to ascribe the accident to 
some neglect or mismanagement ; but the grounds on which he makes 
this accusation are not specified. 



BURNING OF THE BEN SHERROD, MAY 8, 1837. 

On the 8th of May, 1837, the large Louisville and New Orleans 
packet, the Ben Sherrod, caught fire on her upward trip, while she was 
engaged in an exciting race with the steamer Prairie. It was one 
o'clock at night, and the boat was about fourteen miles above Fort 
Adams, ploughing her way up the Mississippi with great velocity. The 
Prairie was just ahead of her, in sight, and the crew of the Ben Sher- 
rod were determined, if possible, to go by her. The firemen were 



MA 



P OF THE MIS SIS SIP PI. —NO. 15. 




Lloyd's steamboat disasters 



•97 



shoving in the pine knots, and sprinkling rosin over the coal, and doing 
their best to raise more steam. They had a barrel of whisky before 
them, from which they drank often and freely until they were beastly 
drunk. The boilers became so hot that they set fire to sixty cords of 
wood on board, and the Ben Sherrod was soon completely enveloped in 




B U r. .N I N G OF THE B K N S H K H K u K 



flames. T!ie passengers, three hundred in number, were sound asleep, 
not thinking of the awful doom that awaited them. When the deck 
hands discovered the fire, they basely left their posts and ran for the 
yawl, without giving the alarm to the passengers. Capt. Castlemau 
attempted for a time to allay the excitement and confusion, by telling 
them the fire Avas extinguished. Twice he forbade the lowering of the 
yawl, which was attempted. The shrieks of nearly three hundred and 
fifty persons now on board, rose wild and dreadful, which might have been 
heard at a distance of several miles. The cry was, " To the shore ! to the 
shore !" and the boat made for the starboard shore, but did not gain it, 
as the wheel ropes soon burnt. The steam was not let off, and the 
boat kept on up the river. The scene of horror now beggared all de- 
scription. The yawl, which had been filled with the crew, had sunk, 
drowning nearly all who were in it; and the passengers had no other 
alternative than to jump overboard, without even taking time to dress. 
There were ten ladies who all went overboard without uttering a single 
scream; some drowned instantly, and others clung to planks ; two of 
the number were all that were saved. Several passengers were burnt 
alive. One man by the name of Hay, from Louisville, Kentucky, 
jumped overboard, and hung to a rope at the bow of the boat, until 
rescued by the yawl of the steamer Columbus, which arrived at the 
scene half an hour after the boat took fire. Mr. Ray's face and arms 



98 Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 

were much burnt while clinging to the boat. He lost twenty thousand 
dollars in specie. The steamboat Alton arrived half an hour after the 
Columbus, but from the carelessness or indiscretion of those on her, 
was the means of drowning many persons who were floating in the 
water. She came down under full headway among the exhausted sufferers, 
who were too weak to make any further exertion, and by the commotion 
occasioned by her wheels drowned a large number. A gentleman by 
the name of Hamilton, from Limestone county, Alabama, was floating 
on a barrel, and sustaining also a lady, when the Alton came up, wash- 
ing them both under. The lady was drowned, but Mr. Hamilton came 
up and floated down the river fifteen miles, when he was rescued by 
the steamer Statesman. Mr. McDowell sustained himself some time 
against the current, so that he floated only two miles down the river, 
and then swam ashore. His wife, who was floating on a plank, was 
drowned by the steamer Alton. Mr. Rundell floated down the river 
ten miles, and was taken up by a flat-boat at the mouth of Buffalo creek ; 
he saved his money in his pantaloons' pocket. Mr. McDowell lost his 
wife, son, and a lady named Miss Frances Few, who was under his 
protection ; also a negro servant. Of those who escaped, we have seen 
and conversed with James P. Wilkinson, Esq., Mr. Stanfield, of Rich- 
mond, Virginia, and Daniel Marshall, Esq., of Moscow, Indiana. 
The scene, as described by them, was truly heart-rending ; while some 
were confined to their berths, and consumed by the flames, others 
plunged into the river to find watery graves. One lady, who attached 
herself to Mr. Marshall, and had clung to him while they floated four 
or five miles, was at length drowned by the waves of the Alton, after 
imploring the boat's crew for assistance and mercy. Mr. Marshall 
was supported by a flour barrel. Only two ladies out of ten who were 
on board were saved ; one of these was Mrs. Castleman, the Captain's 
wife ; the other was Mrs. Smith, of New Orleans. 

It was said by some of the passengers, that the captain of the Alton 
did not hear the cries of those who implored him for assistance as he 
passed, it being midnight ; but there can be no excuse for the monster 
who commanded the Prairie, for leaving a boat in flames without turn- 
ing around and affording the sufferers relief. He reported her on fire at 
Natchez and Vicksburg. 

A man in a canoe near the scene of the disaster refused to save any 
who were floating in the water, unless they promised to pay him hand- 
somely for his services. So rapid were the flames that not even the 
register of the boat was saved ; hence it was impossible to get a full list 
of the lost. One of the officers of the boat informed us, that out of 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 99 

seventy-eight deck passengers not more than six were saved. This was 
one of the most serious cahiraities that ever occurred on the Mississippi 
river, there being at least one hundred and seventy families deprived by 
it of some dear and beloved member, and over two hundred souls being 
hurried by it out of time into eternity, with scarce a moment's warning. 
During the burning of the Ben Sherrod eight different explosions oc- 
curred ; first, barrels of whiskey, brandy, &c. ; then the boilers blew 
up with a fearful explosion, and lastly, forty barrels of gunpowder ex- 
ploded, which made a noise that was heard many miles distant, scattering 
fragments of the wreck in all directions, and producing the grandest 
sight ever seen. Immediately after, the wreck sunk out of sight just 
above Fort Adams. A large quantity of specie, which was on its way 
to the Tennessee Banks, was lost. One gentleman placed his pocket- 
book, containing thirty-eight thousand dollars, under his pillow, and 
though he managed to escape, he lost all his money. One scene was 
distressing in the extreme ; a young and beautiful lady, whose name 
was Mary Ann Walker, on hearing the cry of fire, rushed out of the 
ladies' cabin in her loose night-clothes in search of her husband, at the 
same time holding her infant to her bosom ; in her endeavors to get for- 
ward her dress caught fire, and was torn from her back to save her life. 
After witnessing her husband fall into the flames in the forward part 
of the boat, and unable to reach him, she leaped with her child into 
the water, seized a plank, and was carried by the current within forty 
yards of the Columbus, but just as she seized a rope thrown to her, 
both mother and child sank to rise no more. One young man, who had 
reached the hurricane deck in safety, hearing the cries of his sister, 
rushed back to the cabin, clasped her in his arms, and both were burnt 
to death. One of the clerks, one of the pilots, and the mate were 
burnt to death. All the chambermaids and women employed in the 
boat perished ; only two negroes escaped out of thirty-five that were 
on the boat. 

Lost — Three children and father of Captain Castleman ; Mrs. Mc- 
Dowell, of Belfont, Ala. ; Mrs. Gamble and three children, of New 
Orleans ; Miss Frances Few, of Belfont, South Alabama ; Mr. Fran- 
ces, burnt to death. 

Passengers Saved — James Smith, lady and son ; Thomas Cook, 
W. H. Cloud, Wm. Beattie, Amos Brundell, Thomas Larmer, Samuel 
Ray, Lister Sexton. 

Great praise is due to Captain Austin of the Statesman, and Cap- 
tain Littlejohn of the Columbus, for their humane efforts to save the 
passengers of the Ben Sherrod, for had they acted as the Captain of 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI .— N 0.16. 



Yazoo Co., Miss. 




Greenville 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. lOl 

the Alton, not a soul would have been saved to tell the tale of that 
calamity. Mr. "Wra. Stamp's family did everything in their power 
to relieve the wants of the sufferers, and they will long be remembered 
for their kindness to the strangers in that trying time. 

List of Saved — G. Stanfield ; Mr. Gamble and his son, of New Or- 
leans ; Ephraim Stanfield, Richmond, Virginia ; Rosamond P. Andrews, 
A. n. Hartley, Arkansas; John Lowney, Indiana; Hugh Simpson, 
and Constantino Mahan, Tennessee ; P. 11. "Watkins, Bedford county, 
Virginia ; Thompson Duvall, Shelby county, Indiana ; Matthew M. 
Orme, Natchez ; Thomas W. Blagg, Alabama ; J. S. Lowe, Tennessee ; 
Charles W. Andrews, Yates county, New York ; John Montgomery 
and James 0. Phillips, Indiana ; J. W. Brent, Pecan Point ; John 
Dasua, E. Bushman, E. II. Burnes and J. M. Williams, Indiana ; 
John Blanc, New Orleans ; John A. Davis, Florence, Alabama; Eras- 
tus Griggs, Marietta, Ohio ; A. Randall, Rocky Springs, Mississippi ; 
James P. "Wilkinson, Richmond, Virginia ; Canton Macon, Cincinnati ; 
Wm. Wallace, New York ; Mrs. Smith, of Mobile. 

List of Officers picked up by the Columbus — Captain C. G. 
Castleman and lady ; George Stiles, clerk ; Wm. Bell, first engineer ; 
Stephen Hooks, second engineer ; Charles Greenlee, pilot ; Samuel 
Big, second mate ; John Ilill, carpenter ; P. Rice, Jacob Lightstroff, 
John Eggman, A. Goddin, Amos Burby, Brilly John, M. P. Hard, 
Charles Simms, Fred. Cowen, Willis Caldvy-ell, John Caldwell, John 
Johnson, Jacob Rose, Edward Fleece, B. McDaniel, Moses Caldwell, 
Charles Anderson, Peter Sevier, Andrew Moore, Joseph Cooper, Jo- 
seph Fisher, and John Clark. 

A gentleman, Mr. Cook, floated down the river several miles before 
he was picked up. He. hailed the wretched and despicable character who 
had put off in a yawl from the shore, and begged his assistance. The 
scoundrel, who was intent in picking up baggage, boxes, &c., asked 
with the utmost sa)rg froid, "How much will you give me?" To the 
entreaties of others for help, he replied, " Oh, you are very well off 
there; keep cool, and you'll come out comfortable." 

Poor Davis, the pilot at the wheel, was consumed ; he was one in a 
thousand, preferring to die rather than leave his post in the hour of dan- 
ger. Just before he left New Orleans, he was conversing with another 
pilot about the burning of the St. Martinsville ; said he, "If ever I should 
be on a boat that takes fire, and don't save the passengers, it will be 
because the tiller ropes burn, or I perish in the flames." And just 
such men as Davis are to be found among the western boatmen ; many 
have stood by their posts in the hour of danger, and perished rather 
than flinch from their duty. 



102 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



BURNINa OF THE BRANDYWINE, APRIL 9, 1832. 

The steamboat Brandywine, Capt. Hamilton, left New Orleans on 
the evening of April 3d, 1832. Her place of destination was Louis- 
ville, Kentucky. Her voyage was prosperous until the evening of the 
9th, at seven o'clock. When the boat was about thirty miles above 
Memphis, she was discovered to be on fire. Among the lading, it ap- 
pears there were a number of carriage wheels wrapped in straw, as 
articles of that kind are usually put up for transportation on the river. 
These wheels were piled on the boiler-deck, near the officers' rooms, and 
under the hurricane roof. It is supposed that the fire was communi- 
cated from the furnaces to the highly combustible envelope of these 
wheels ; the wind blew hard at the time, and the sparks were ascend- 
ing very rapidly through the apertures in the boiler-deck, which were 
occupied by the chimneys, these not being closely fitted to the wood- 
work. It appears, too, that the Brandywine was racing with the steam- 
boat Hudson at the time the fire broke out ; and that, for the purpose 
of producing more intense heat, and thus accelerating the boat's speed, a 
large quantity of rosin had been thrown into the furnaces. Tliis fatal 
ruse was resorted to because the Brandywine had been compelled to stop 
and make some repairs, and the Hudson, in the meantime, had gained 
considerable headway. Soon after the Brandywine had resumed her 
course, the pilot who was steering discovered that the straw covering 
of the carriage wheels was on fire. Strenuous efforts were made to ex- 
tinguish the flames and to throw the burning articles overboard, but 
it was found that their removal allowed the wind to have free access 
to the ignited mass ; from which cause, as Capt. Hamilton reports, the 
fire began to spread with almost incredible rapidity ; and in less than 
five ininutes from the time the alarm was first given, the whole boat 
was wrapped in a bright sheet of flame. 

The state of afi'airs on board may be imagined, when it is understood 
that the Brandywine was crowded with passengers, and the only means 
of escape from a death of fiery torture which presented itself was the 
yawl, in which scarcely a tenth part of the aSrighted people could be 
conveyed to the shore at a single trip. But even the faint hope of de- 
liverance which this single mode of escape offered them, soon termi- 
nated in disappointment and despair. In the attempt to launch the 
yawl, it was upset and sunk. The heat and smoke had now become so 
insupportable, that not less than a hundred persons, made desperate by 
fear and suffering, threw themselves into the river. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 103 

The number of passengers on board, according to some reports, was 
not less than two hundred and thirty ; of these only about seventy-five 
were saved ; the rest were either drowned or burned to death. Among 
those who perished were nine women, and about an equal number of 
children. 

As soon as all hope of extinguishing the flames was abandoned, an 
attempt was made to run the boat on shore, but she struck on a sand- 
bar, in nine feet w^ater, and about a quarter of a mile from the nearest 
bank of the river, where she remained immovable, until she was burnt 
to the water's edge. Those passengers, and other persons belonging 
to the boat, who had the good fortune to escape, saved themselves by 
swimming, or floating on detached pieces of timber to the nearest island. 
It is reported to the honor of Capt. Hamilton and his crew, that they 
remained on the burning boat to the last possible moment, exerting 
themselves to the utmost to save the lives which had been entrusted to 
their charge. 

In this case, as in several others which we have noticed, the number 
of victims cannot be ascertained with any degree of precision. The 
following list of the killed, although it is the most complete account 
that we could obtain, does not, in all probability, comprise more than 
one-third of the real number. 

Cabin Passengers. — II. Hilyard, H. II. Davenport, Fowler, 

and Robert Stothart, Nashville ; Mrs. Walker and child ; Mrs. Sparks ; 
three colored women, and several children. 

Deck Passengers. — L. Hamilton, Joseph Ford, Abner Osborne, 

Byce Jackson, B. Williams, Joseph Leonard, L. Flourney, Ralls, 

B. Murell, Martin Cozine, John Myers, H. McMillan, Edward Bebee, 

John Mortimer, E, Wright, Marell, John Adams and brother, 

and W. Downes, Cincinnati ; James Saunders, A. Stansbury, J. Knock, 
and Adam Abrams, New Orleans ; Mrs. Johnson, Philadelphia ; Miss 
Thompson, Baltimore ; Miss Ilettie Jones, Cincinnati ; William Peters, 
St Louis ; W. Williams, Chicago ; Henry Hull, Detroit ; James Ott, 
Hartford, Connecticut ; D. French, New York ; S. Michael, Missouri ; 
E. Blanks, Kentucky ; J. Carter, Natchez ; Z. Shires, Boston ; B. 
Colt, Memphis ; Miss Blanton, Mississippi ; Mrs. Williams ; three chil- 
dren of Mr. Thompson, and Ethan Johnstone, Louisiana ; and three 
slaves belonging to the boat. 

The number of wounded could not have been less than seventy, some 
of whom were severely injured, and died, in consequence, soon after. 
Of those who escaped to the island, some were so badly burned, or 
otherwise injured, that they survived only for a few hours. 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI. — NO. 17, 



Lake P^rt Ldg 




Grand Lake ■^p.-^ss 



===Vsa Princeton 



Carolina Ldg. 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



105 



EXPLOSION OF THE OROXOKO, APEIL 21, 1838. 

On Saturday morning, at six o'clock, April 21st, 1838, the steamboat 
Oronoko, Capt. John Cra^vford, came to anchor in the Mississippi, op- 
posite Princeton, one hundred miles above A^ieksburg, -where she 
stopped for the purpose of sending her yawl ashore to receive some 
passengers. In less than five minutes after the machinery ceased 
moving, a flue collapsed, spreading death and devastation throughout 
the boat. This accident occurred before the people on board were 
aroused from their slumbers. The deck passengers were lodged on the 
lower deck, abaft the engine, where, as is customary in western 
steamboats, berths were provided for their accommodation. On this oc- 
casion the number of berths was insufficient, as the boat was thronged 
with emigrant!^, and mattresses had been spread over the floor for the 
use of those who could not be lodged in the berths. This apartment 




EXPLOSION OF T a li O li O N o K O . 



between decks was densely crowded with sleeping passengers, when the 
flue collapsed, as aforesaid, and the steam swept through the whole 
length of the boat with the force of a tornado, carrying everything 
before it. jNIany of the crew, whom duty had called on deck at that 
early hour, were blovm overboard ; and as the scalding vapor penetrated 
every part and recess of the cabin and space between decks, the slum- 
bering population of the boat, with scarcely an individual exception, were 
either killed on the spot, or injured in a manner more terrible than 
death itself. Some of these unfortunates were completely excoriated, 
some shockingly mangled and torn, while others were cast among masses 
of ruins, fragments of wood and iron, piled up in inextricable confusion. 
The deck was strewn with more than fifty helpless suflerers ; the 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI. — N .18 



Lake Providence ^^ 




Transylvania Ldg. 
Wilton Ldg. 



sHsss^tTennesee Ldg. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 107 

river was all alive with those that had been hurled overboard by the 
force of the explosion, and those who, frantic with pain and terror, 
had cast themselves into the water. Some of those who had been scalded 
swam to the bank, and then in the wildest phrenzj, occasioned by in- 
tolerable agony, leaped back into the water and were drowned. Those 
persons who occupied the cabin generally escaped before the steam 
reached that apartment ; but one gentleman, Mr. Myers, of Wheel- 
ing, while making his way forward with his child in his arms, became 
alarmed at the scene of confusion and distress which presented itself, 
and rushing back to the cabin, which by this time was filled with steam, 
he and the child were both badly burned, and died soon afterwards. 

Nearly one hundred deck passengers are supposed to have been 
sacrificed, the names of a great majority of whom were unknown, and 
are therefore not inserted in the subjoined list. 

Persons known to have been killed — John Porter, second engi- 
neer, of Shippingsport, Kentucky; Owen Owens, Welshman, (blown 
overboard and drowned ;) Mr. Myers, of Wheeling, and his child, eight 
months old ; John Walker, fireman ; E. Webb, Trumbull county, Ohio ; 
P. McGallagher, brother and child, Mr. and Mrs. Flanegan, and two 
children, of Ireland; R. Hardenbroch, and Joseph Oilman, firemen, 
of Pittsburgh; Martha Mulligan, of Ireland; Wm. Jackson, Dr. Young, 
Georgia ; Samuel Smith, New York ; V. Armstrong, Virginia ; Walter 
Dillon, Boston ; E. D. Murray, Syracuse, New Y''ork ; Dr. Williams, 
J. B. Clawson, M. D. Perry, Bath, Maine ; Jethro Jacks, Mass. ; 0. 
Arbinger, Louisville ; S. Winters, Indiana ; David Few, Lexington, 
Kentucky ; John Bloodgood, B. Hunter, New Hampshire ; D. Atkin- 
son and U. Terrebonne, Louisiana ; M. Dorsey, Kentucky ; Miss Wil- 
hoite, Rhode Island ; C. Torrence, Missouri ; Mary Ann Bostick, Cin- 
cinnati ; A. Hemfield, Delancy, New Orleans ; Charles Olmstead, 

South Carolina ; A. Dinwiddie, Maine ; and three others, not named. 

The Wounded : — George Pettibone, of New York ; Joseph Tunis, 
Baton Rouge, Louisiana ; Enoch Heritage, Cincinnati, Ohio ; William 
Clayton, Galloway county, Kentucky ; George Henry, Wheeling, Vir- 
ginia ; Wm. Ilaynes, Frederick county, Maryland ; S. Smith, Onon- 
dago county. New I'^ork ; James Lloyd Ilarri^ton, Roxbury, Massa- 
chusetts ; wife and child of P. Gallagher ; George Snodgrass, Cooper 
county. Mo. 

Several of those mentioned in the list of wounded died of their inju- 
ries. Some of those blown overboard were picked up by the yawl, 
and two or three were saved by a skifi" from the shore. The inhabit- 
ants of Princeton did all in their power to assist the distressed crew 
and passengers, and to alleviate their sufferings. 




gistantts, Cofons aiib i\nx ^0puIcitioii 



THE OHIO PtlVER. 



FROM PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, TO 



Miflflleport, Ohio, 
Sheffield, Ohio, 
West Columbia, Va., 
Cheshire, Ohio, 
Addisonville, Ohio, -• 
Point Pleasant, Va., 
Gallipolis, Ohio, 
Snuiplu's Landing, Ohio, 
Little Giigar, Va., 
Millersport, Ohio, - 
Haskilville, Ohio, 
Guyandotte, Va., - 
Indiiin Guyandotte, Ohio, 
Burlington, Ohio, - 
lOatlettsburgh, Ky., - 
Ashland, Ky., 
Iron ton, Ohio, - - - 
Hanging Rock, Ohio, 
Greenupsburgh, Ky., 
Wheelersburgh, Ohio, - 
Sciotoville, Ohio, 
Port.'^mouth, Oliio, - 
New Hiiiupshire, Ky., 
Buena Vista, Ohio, 
RockviUe, Ohio, 
Vancoburgh, Ky., - 
Rome, Ohio, - . - 
Concord, Ky., 
Wrightsville, Ohio, - 
Manchester, Ohio, 
Maysville, Ky., 
Ripley, Ohio, 

Lavana, Ohio, - - - 
Dover, Ky., - - . 
Higginsport, Ohio, - 
Augusta, Ky., 
Smith's Landing, Ohio, 
Chilo. Ohio, - 
Neville, Ohio, - - - 
Foster's Landing, opposite, 
Moscow, Ohio, - - - 
Point Pleasant, Ohio, - 
Bellmont, Ky., opposite, - 
California, Ky., 
New Richmond, Ohio, 
Piilostine, Ohio, 
California, Ohio, 
Columbia, Ohio, 
Pendelton, . . . 
Jamestown, Ky., opposite, 
CiNCi.NNATi, Ohio, 





AI 


LES. 


Pop. 


Sewiekleyville, Pa., - 




13 


1400 


Shousetown, Pa., - 


2 


15 


1600 


Economy, Pa., - . - 


3 


18 


1700 


Freedom, Pa., 


8 


2(5 


1000 


Beaver, Pa., . . - 


2 


28 


3000 


Shippersport, Pa., - 


6 


34 


300 


Georgetown, Ph., 


6 


40 


400 


Glasgow, opposite, in Ohio, 






200 


Liverpool, Ohio, 


5 


45 


1000 


Wellsville, Ohio, 


5 


50 


2500 


Port Homer, Ohio, - 


6 


55 


100 


New Cumberhind, Va., - 


4 


59 


100 


Steubenville, Ohio, - 


12 


71 


8000 


Wellsburgb, Va., - 


7 


78 


408*) 


Warrenton, Ohio, 


7 


85 


600 


Tiltonsville, Ohio, - 


2 


87 


150 


Burlington, Ohio, 


3 


90 


100 


Martinsville, " - 


3 


93 


700 


Wheeling, Va., 


2 


95 


20,000 


Bridgeport, Ohio, op., - 






800 


Richetown & W.Whceling.O 


1 


9G 


COO 


Benwood, Va., 


3 


99 


100 


B^'Ue Air, opposite, - 






50 


Weegee, Ohio, 


5 


104 


56 


EUzabethtown, Va., - 


3 


107 


2000 


Powhaton. Oliio, - 


8 


115 


100 


Sunfish, Ohio, - 


8 


123 


120 


Baresville, Ohio, - 


9 


132 


140 


New Martinsville, Va., 


3 


135 


400 


Clarington, Ohio, - 


4 


139 


450 


Sisterville, Va., 


6 


145 


460 


Cochrenville, 


2 


147 


160 


Matamor.as, . . - 


3 


150 


40 


St. Mary's . - ,. 


13 


103 


80 


Newport, Ohio, 


1 


164 


1000 


Marietta, Ohio, 


16 


ISO 


6000 


■W^illiamsport, op., in Va., - 






400 


Parkersburgh. Va., 


12 


192 


600 


Little Hockingport, Ohio, - 


8 


200 


400 


Hockingport, Ohio, 


% 


208 


400 


Bellville, Va., - 


213 


ISO 


Murraysville, Va., - 


3 


216 


300 


Ravenswood, Va., 


11 


227 


400 


Letnrtville, Ohio, - 


13 


240 


3110 


Racine, Ohio, - . . 


6 


24 6 


190 


Saracruse, Ohio, - 


5 


251 


200 


Hartford city. Va., - 


1 


252 


3(10 


Minersville, Ohio, - 


1 


253 


220 


Nyesville, Ohio, 


1 


254 


300 


Poraeroy, Ohio, 


1 


256 


3000 


Mason city, op., in Va., 






200 


Coalport, Ohio, 


1 


256 


SOO 


(108) 









1 


257 


1 


25S 


1 


259 


4 


263 


4 


267 


4 


271 


4 


275 


12 


2S7 


6 


293 


6 


299 


2 


301 


10 


311 


1 


312 


7 


319 


4 


323 


6 


328 


5 


333 


3 


336 


6 


342 


11 


353 


2 


355 


7 


362 


11 


373 


4 


377 


1 


378 


4 


382 


5 


387 


7 


394 


2 


396 


4 


400 


12 


412 


9 


421 


2 


423 


2 


425 


5 


430 


3 


433 


7 


440 


3 


443 


5 


448 


3 


451 


3 


454 


4 


458 


2 


460 


5 


465 


6 


471 


3 


474 


2 


476 


4 


480 



Pop. 

320 
400 
300 
200 
100 
300 

3000 
100 
200 
160 
200 

2000 
400 
600 
600 
360 

2500 
600 
500 
480 
380 

6900 
180 
300 
200 
280 
180 
300 
100 
390 

8000 

3000 
200 
880 
700 

1600 
100 
185 
400 
200 
400 
400 
300 
180 

4000 
600 
100 
200 
200 
300 
210,000 



\ 



^ 



DISTANCES, TOWNS AND POPULATION. 1C9 



FROM CINCINNATI, OHIO, TO 



Industry, Ohio, 

Taylorsport, op., in Ky., 

North Bend, Ohio, - 

Lawrenceburgh, Ind., - 

Petersburgh, Ky., 

Aurora, Ind., 

Bellview, Ky., . - . 

Rising Sun, Ind., - 

Millersburgh, Ind., - 

Hamilton, Ky., 

Patriot, Ind., ... 

Sugar Creek Landing, Ky., 

Warsaw, Ky., ... 

Florence, Ind., 

Vevay, lud., ... 



Miles. 


Pop. 




11 


200 
100 


5 


16 


100 


7 


2S 


5000 


2 


25 


200 


2 


27 


4000 


8 


35 


100 


i 


39 


3000 


3 


42 


ISO 


5 


47 


440 


4 


51 


1000 


4 


65 


20 


5 


60 


1400 


1 


61 


130 


8 


69 


3000 



Ghent, opposite, in Ky., 
Carrolton, Ky., 
IMadison, Ind., - - . 
/Hanover, Ind., 
London, Ind., - - . 
Marble Hill, or Dean's 

Landing, Ind., 
Bethlehem, Ind., - 
Garret'.s Lanil., op., in Ky., 
Westport, Ky., - - - 
Jlerculaneum, Ind. 
Charleston Landing, Ind., 
Utica, Ind., - . - 
JefFersonville, Ind., - 
Louisville, Ky., - 



BI 


ILE3. 


Tor. 

500 


9 


78 


2S0l» 


2 


00 


10,000 


5 


JO 


600 


5 


100 


210 


5 


105 


80 


5 


110 


600 
200 


6 


116 


600 


4 


120 


110 


7 


127 


180 


6 


r.v3 


490 


7 


140 


4900 


1 


141 


80,000 



FROM LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, TO 



New Albany, Ind., - 
West Point, or Salt River, 

Ky., - - . . 
Rock Haven, ... 
Tobacco Landing, - 
Brandenburg, Ky., - 
Mockport, Ind., 
Amsterdam, Ind., 
Leavenworth, Ind., 
Concordia, Ky., 
Rome, Ind., ... 
Stephenson, Ky., opposite, 
Cloverport, Ky., . 
Hawesville, Ky., 
Cannelton, Ind., opposite, 
Troy, Ind., 
Lewisport, Ky., 
Grand View, Ky., 
Rock Port, Ind., - 
Owensboro, Ky., 
Bon Harbor, Ky., - 



Miles. 


rop. 




3 


16,000 


20 


23 


600 


10 


33 


400 


6 


39 


100 


5 


44 


1400 


2 


40 


150 


8 


54 


100 


10 


64 


1300 


25 


89 


180 


23 


112 


1000 
250 


10 


122 


800 


14 


136 


1000 
600 


8 


144 


450 


9 


153 


400 


5 


158 


120 


5 


163 


800 


10 


173 


1400 


7 


180 


450 



MILE9. 

Newburg, Ind., - - 23 203 

Evansville, Ind., - . 15 218 

Henderson, Ky., . - 12 230 

West Franklin, - - 13 243 

Mount Vernon, Ind., - 15 258 

Uniontown, Ky., - - 18 276 

Raleigh, Ky., - . - 12 288 

Shawnoetown, HI., . 5 293 

Caseyville, Ky., - - 15 308 
California, or Cave in Rock, 

III., - - - - 10 318 

Elizabethtown, 111., - 10 328 

Roso Clair, ... 2 330 

Golconda, 111., . . 8 .338 

Sinithland, Ky., . .15 353 

Paducah, Ky., - - 12 365 

Brooklyn, - - . 3 368 

Metropolis, 111., . - 7 375 

Hillaman, 111., - . -10 385 

Caledonia, 111., . - 15 400 

Cairo, 111., - - - 15 415 



Pop. 
lOOO 
12,000 
4000 

150 
2000 

500 

200 
3000 

180 

60 

130 

60 

400 

2500 

4000 

80 

800 

100 

500 

1000 



gistanas on %tnntsstt fvihr. 



FROM PADUCAH, KENTUCKY, TO 



Paris Landing, 

Sandy " 

Winns' " 

Point Mason, 

Reynoldsburgh, 

Mills Point, - 

Perryville, 

Brownsport, . 

Patriot, 

Dec^ur Furnace, . 

CarroUsvillo, 

Clifton, 



MiLBS. 


Pop. 




79 


100 


1 


80 


60 


8 


88 


30 


12 


100 


40 


10 


110 


100 


4 


114 


80 


36 


150 


200 


6 


156 


ISO 


7 


163 


300 


3 


166 


180 


4 


170 


300 


1 


171 


90 







MlLlS. 


Pop. 


Swallow Bluff, - 


. 


12 


183 


40 


Saltillo, 


. 


10 


193 


100 


Coffee Landing, 


. 


16 


209 


100 


Savannah. 


- 


5 


214 


ISO 


Crumps Landing, 


- 


4 


218 


49 


Pittsburgh, . 


. 


4 


222 


100 


Hamburg, 


. 


4 


226 


120 


Eastport, 




30 


256 


1000 


Chickasaw, 


- 


2 


258 


185 


Tuscumbia, - 


. 


26 


284 


2000 


Florence, Foot of Muscle 








Shoals, 


. 


5 


'289 


3000 



110 



DISTANCES, TOWNS AND POPULATION 



listaKtts 011; Cumhrhnii %xhtx. 



Pinkneyville, - 
Dyensburgh, 
Eddyville, 
Tennessee R. Mill, 
Canton, - 
Lime Port, - 
Tobacco Port, - 
Dover, - 
Cumberland R 
Bowlingreen, 
New York, 
Palmyra, 
Prices' Landin; 



Mill, 



FROM SMITHLAND, KENTUCKY, TO 



Clarksville, • 
Davis Riffle, 
Betseystown 
Raworlh's Landing, 
Newton's Warehouse, 
Mouth of Harbor, - 
Sycamore Landing, - 
Mouth of Marrowbone, 
Dozier's Landing, 
Davidson's " 
Watkin's " - 
Watson's " 
Nashville, 



Miles. 


Pop. 




15 


180 


5 


20 


80 


25 


45 


1300 


10 


55 


600 


10 


65 


200 


12 


77 


100 


2 


79 


180 


12 


91 


100 


7 


98 


200 


8 


106 


80 


10 


116 


60 


5 


121 


100 


11 


132 


100 



Miles. 

1 133 

15 148 

5 153 



154 
155 

168 
164 
167 
173 
178 
179 
186 
193 



Top. 

4500 

100 
60 
40 
20 
40 
f-0 
60 
45 
30 
80 
25,000 



EXPLOSION OP THE TRI-COLOR 



This sad event took place on the first day of April, 1830, at Wheeling, Va., on the Ohio 
river. The Captain, second engineer, and thirteen passengers, were killed. Four persons were 
wounded. The first engineer, who escaped unhurt, gives the following account. When the 
boat stopped at Wheeling to land passengers, he had the fires damped down, and was sure that 
there was a good supply of water in the boilers. He then went to his breakfast, but before he 
had finished this meal, the Captain came to the door and informed him that the steam was up, 
and he wished to start. The engineer arose from the table, went out, and found that the steam 
was very high, and the fire burning briskly. 

The men were then employed in pushing out the boat from the wharf, but before the bell 
gave the signal to go ahead, the boilers bursted with the usual horrid effects. The engineer, 
who gives this account, ascribes the accident to the imprudent conduct of the captain ; who 
ordered the men to supply the fires with fuel, without notifying the engineer that this had been 
done. It appears that captains of steamboats were, at that time, too apt to interfere with the 
engineer's duties, affecting to be more familiar with the operation of the steam-engine than the 
men who were presumed to have the exclusive management thereof. The names of the killed 
and wounded are not given. Six persons were killed. 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. Ill 



EXPLOSION OF THE PILOT. 

On tlio tcntli of March, 1844, while the steamboat Pilot, Capt. Gow, 
"was leaving the woodyard of Mr. Felix, opposite New Orleans, the 
starboard boiler burst Avith a terrific report. Capt. Gow and Mr. Felix 
were standing on the boiler-deck ; both were blown overboard, and each 
had a leg broken, and they were otherwise severely injured, yet they suc- 
ceeded in reaching the shore. William Gow, a son of the captain, was 
standing on the forecastle, and was frightfully mangled. His spine 
and both his legs were broken. He was removed to the hospital at 
New Orleans, where he expired on the following morning. One of the 
deck-hands jumped overboard and was drowned. John Nixon, fii'st en- 
gineer, and Henry Fox, second engineer, were badly scalded. One of 
the steersmen was slightly scalded, and had both his legs broken. 
Capt. Gow himself had his legs broken, his skull fractured, and was 
internally injured, and it was supposed that he could not possibly re- 
cover. Several others who were on board were more or less hurt. 
One of the crew died of his injuries at the hospital, about a week after 
the accident took place. 

Captain Gow and Mr. Felix were blown to the height of fifty feet 
in the air, and their escape from instant death is certainly one of the 
most extraordinary circumstances which we find in the records of 
steamboat calamities. 



EXPLOSION OF THE GEORGE COLLIER, MAY 6, 1839. 

This steamer was on her way from New Orleans to St. Louis. On 
the fatal day, at one o'clock, A. M., when the boat was eighty miles 
below Natchez, the piston-rod gave way, by which accident the forAvard 
c^dinder-head was broken, and a part of the boiler stand was carried 
away. The steam which escaped scalded forty-five persons, twenty 
of whom died on the same day. A list of the dead and wounded was 
furnished by the clerk. We copy it, with the usual doubts respecting 
its accuracy, as many names must have been unavoidably omitted. 

Killed. — T. J. Spalding, fireman, of St. Charles, Mo. ; Charles 
Brooks, deck passenger^ residence unknown ; William Blake, Bos- 
ton, Mass. ; Christian Herring, Germany; Mrs. E. Welch and two chil- 
dren, and^J. O'Brian and wife, New Orleans; Seldon J. Bror^ua, Po- 



AP OF THE MISSISSIPPI . — N . 19 




VICKSBUBC 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 113 

land, Kj. ; John Idlda, France ; David J. Rose, New Orleans ; Dederick 
Groe, Germany ; Frederick Gross, and Joseph B. Bossuet, Boston, 
Mass. ; Peter Smith, New Orleans ; Joseph Lawrence, Parke co., Ind. ; 

Charlotte Fletcher and brother, England ; Bilch, fireman ; and 

six others whose names are unknown. 

"Wounded. — Passengers. — D. Husselnangcr, and Mrs Christian 
Herring, Germany, (both badly scalded) ; Thomas Fletcher and wife, 
England, (badly burnt) ; Francis Bryan and wife, and Francis Sernel- 
ly, St. Louis ; Thomas Butler ; Isaac Raney ; Alfred Davis, deck hand ; 
John Brown, and James McDonald, firemen ; five children of Adam 
Woolbridge, some of them badly scalded ; a slave of Thomas Johnston ; 
Isadora Idida, deck passenger, badly scalded. 

The cause of the disaster was probably a flaw or imperfection in the 
• machinery. 



BURNING OF THE TANGIPAHO, MARCH 2, 1838. 

The Tangipaho, N. Sharpe, master, was on her way from the lake ter- 
minus of the railroad to the Balize, and when about forty miles from her 
place of destination, she was discovered to be on fire. After some time 
spent in the vain effort to extinguish the flames. Captain Sharpe, jNIr. 
Wilson, the pilot, and Mr. Smith, a passenger, left the boat (being 
obliged to use the hatches for a raft, as there was no small boat on 
board), with the intention of reaching the nearest land. Mr. Phillip 
Grennell, the mate, and six colored men employed as deck hands, re- 
mained in the steamer. About night-fall the chimneys fell in, and then 
the mate and his assistants succeeded in extinguishing the fire. Mr. 
Grennell then constructed several sails by joining blankets together, 
and put the boat before the wind, hoping to reach South Pass, or some 
other place of security. After drifting about all the succeeding day, 
Saturday, March 3d, they cast anchor near the beach, and went on shore 
for water, but were unable to obtain any. They weighed anchor, and 
ran the boat on shore in the marshes on Sunday afternoon. From 
thence they travelled to Johnson's store on the Mississippi, where they 
procured a skiff, crossed to the opposite side, and were taken on board 
by the tow-boat Farmer, Captain Morrison. 

The gentlemen who betook themselves to the hatches, viz : Captain 

Sharpe and Messrs. Wilson and Smith, were doubtless lost, as nothing 

was heard of them afterwards. All might have been saved, had the 

steamer been provided with a small boat ! 
8 



lU 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



EXPLOSION OF THE GEN. BROWN, NOY. 25, 1838. 

For the particulars of this disaster we are indebted to Capt. Robert 
McConnell, now of Paducah, Ky., who was clerk on board the Gen- 
eral Brown, and an eye-witness of the explosion and its dreadful results. 
This steamer, under the command of Captain Samuel Clark, left Louis- 
ville, Ky., for New Orleans on the 19th of November, 1838. This was 
her first trip of the season, and the water was quite low in both rivers, 
being only five feet in the Ohio and seven feet in the Mississippi. Cir- 
cumstances seemed to threaten misfortune from the very beginning of 
the voyage ; for in passing over a sand-bar at no great distance from 
Louisville, the General Brown came in collision with the steamer Wash- 
ington, bound up the river, by which accident the larboard wheel of the ■ 
Gen. Brown was damaged to that degree that repairs were necessary 
before the boat could proceed. The carpenter succeeded in fitting up 
a temporary Avheel, which answered the purpose very imperfectly ; 
however, the boat was enabled to continue her trip, working along 
slowly until the morning of Sunday, November 25th, when she reached 
Helena, Ark., where she stopped to land a passenger. This being done, 
the captain, who stood on the hurricane roof, took the bell-rope in his 
hand to give the usual signal of departure; but at the first tap of 




SCA frjC/?coi?^y s 



EXPLOSION or THE GENERAL BBOWN. 

the bell, the boilers exploded with a deafening crash, and that single 
stroke of the bell was to many a signal of departure to that eternal 
world from whence no traveller returns. Capt. Clark himself, while still 
grasping the bell rope convulsively in his hand, was blown overboard, 
together with a portion of the wood-work on which he stood. He had 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 115 

been holding a lively conversation with Dr. Price, of Lexington, a few 
moments before. Dr. P. stood on the same platform, and shared the 
same melancholy fate, both gentlemen being afterwards found among 
the dead. Captain McConnell, who gives this account, was throv.n 
from the railing on which he stood after notifying the captain that tho 
boat was ready to start. He fell on the deck and received but little 
injury. He supposes that the persons killed numbered about fifty-five, 
and the wounded fifteen or twenty. The names which follow are all 
that he could call to remembrance. 

Killed. — Capt. Samuel Clark, master of the boat ; Joseph Under- 
wood, and Hamilton McRay, pilots ; James Wilson, first engineer ; 
Basil Boons, mate ; Ely Johns, second clerk; carpenter, name not re- 
collected ; Patrick Dunn, bar-keeper ; eight or ten firemen and deck- 
hands. Passengers — C. Libley, D. L. Davis, N. A. Miller, and Dr. 
Price, of Lexington, Ky. ; IL M. Blanchard, E. Hubbard, George John- 
son, J. K. Gutherite, T. D. Sims, C. Keane, T. D. Levey, A. Dugan, Dr. 
Johnson and wife, B. ^Yalker, C. Stansbury, 0. Perry, and several 
others, making a total of fifty-five. 

The names of the wounded are not given. Capt. IMcConnell ex- 
onerates the commander of the General Brown from all blame, de- 
claring that he frequently urged the firemen and engineers to use the 
utmost caution, and to carry as little steam as possible, on account of 
the crippled condition of the boat. 



EXPLOSION OF THE ELIZABETH. 

The steamboat Elizabeth, Capt. Gordon, w^as ascending the Missis- 
sippi on Tuesday, April od, 1845, having left New Orleans on the pre- 
ceding Sunday. About three o'clock, P. M., just as she entered the 
Courtauban, her boiler collapsed, making a complete wreck of her 
upper works. The numerous pieces of the deck, kc, bloAvn overboard, 
afibrded the means of escape to a number of persons who had been pro- 
jected into the water. 

The names of the persons who were killed or injured by this accident 
"were given by the clerk of the boat, whose statement we copy : 

J. H. Gordon, the captain, was very badly scalded and bruised. 
Daniel Yorke, mate, killed. Freeman B. Lamb, first pilot, leg frac- 
tured. James Marquite, first engineer, very badly injured. Nelson 

Hill, second engineer, missing. Rhodes, deck hand, missing. 

One colored fireman slightly scalded, and another missing. 

The passengers were uninjured, except a few who were slightly bruised. 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI . — N . 20 . 



=^lVVARRENTOVVN 




NEW C/VRTrtAtli- 



^=/BlG CLACK 1. 



HAKO IIMES 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 117 



EXPLOSION OF THE ENTERPRISE, ON THE RIO GRANDE. 

On the 21st day of August, 1846, the Enterprise was about casting 
off from a landing-place on the river, forty-five miles above Renoza, 
•where she had been moored during the night ; and scarcely had the 
paddle-wheels made three revolutions, when the boiler exploded, making 
a fearful havoc among the passengers (U. S. volunteers) and crew, who 
numbered altogether about one hundred and fifty persons. The hull, and 
those parts of the boat adjacent to the stern, were but little damaged, but 
the forward works, with everything in the neighborhood of the boilers, 
were torn to pieces or blown overboard. There were sixteen men 
sleeping between the chimneys, all of whom experienced, more or less, 
the sad effects of the accident. 

Many were shot into the air, and falling into the water, were 
drowned, being too much disabled to swim, or to make any other effort 
for their own preservation. Others fell on different parts of the boat, 
and were horribly mutilated. The boilers were very much shattered, 
the pieces flying about in every direction, and falling in a shower of 
iron fragments on the deck. In such circumstances, the escape of so 
many of the crew and passengers from death or severe injury was 
almost miraculous. No satisfactory account of the cause of the disas- 
ter has been given, but it was conjectured that some leakage in the 
boilers caused a deficiency of water therein, which is a frequent cause 
of steamboat explosions. 

The Killed — Enoch Tucker, Texas ; Thomas Gaufney, N. Y. ; A. 
Boswell, Tenn. ; Mr. Seaps, second cook ; a passenger, name unknown. 

Badly Wounded — Lieutenant Bearing, of the Louisville Legion ; 
William A. Crook, and C. B. Crook, of Tenn. ; Capt. AVoods, William 
Grey, Jacob Bowringe, and Thomas Eagle, Texas ; J. C. Howard, sut- 
ler, of Baltimore, Md. ; Joseph Grigsby and William Hickey, sutlers 
of Louisville Legion ; Mr. Tabor, pilot ; Thomas Kennepee, Samuel 
Martin, Patrick Kelley, Frank Tallant, deck hand ; J. F. Clark, mate. 

Slightly Wounded — Milton Cunningham and James Wilson, 
Tenn. ; J. Wheeler, J. Humerick, Matthew Sampson, and Christian 
Coleman, Texas ; J. Downing and Mr. Adams, sutlers of Louisville 
Legion ; Edmund Newell, clerk ; Capt. Kelsey, of Conn. ; W. Arthines, 
fireman ; Henry A. Emmons, second mate ; Dr. H. S. Tudor. 

Patrick Kelley, one of the wounded, was maddened by his sufferings, 
and died in a few days after the accident. The bodies of some of the 
passengers who were drowned, were recovered from the water and 
buried some miles below Renoza. 



SKETCH OF CINCINNATI. 

Cincinnati is situated on the right bank of tho Ohio river, 490 miles W. S. W. of Pittsbu'g, 
140 miles N. E. of tho Falls of Ohio, 174 miles E. of St. Louis, and 540 miles from tho mouth 
Df tho river. Lat. 39° 6' 30" N., long. 84° 26' W. This city is the capital of Hamilton 
coun'y, and is the largest city of the West, and fourth in size and imjiortanco among all tha 
cities of tho Union. 

BaiLDiNGS. — Among the most interesting public buildings, may be mentioned that edifice 
called tho College, on Walnut street, occupied by tho Chamber of Commerce and Young Men's 
Mercantile Library. It is a spacious and elegant structure with a marble front. A library of 
20,000 volumes is located in this building. Tho churches and other public buildings of Cin- 
cinnati admit of favorable comparison with those of any other city in America. 

Hotels. — Cincinnati is well provided with excellent hotels, tho very best of which is the 
Spencer House, situated at the corner of Broadway and Front streets, and near the steamboat 
landing. This house is now under the management of Blessrs. Pratt & Motcalf, formerly of 
tho Louisville Hotel. For urbanity, wholesouled hospitality, and every other good and perfect 
qualitj' which can adorn the character of hotel keepers, they are patterns which we would re- 
commend for the imitation of all po-sons in the same line of business. Since this establish- 
ment has come under the control of the present proprietors, it has been thronged with visitors 
and it enjoys unbounded popularity and a most enviable reputation as one of the best hotels 
in the United States. 

General Business of Cincinnati. — The boot and shoo trade is in a thriving condition. 
One establishment in this line, viz.: that of Gideon Burton, No. 32 Pearl street, trade on a 
cash capital of $80,000, which enables them to purchase in the most advantageous markets and 
on the most favorable terms ; hence, the extreme moderation of their prices attracts avast 
amount of custom. In the hardware line, one of the best houses in tho Western country i.^ 
that of Messrs. Hunter, Coburn & Edincston, wholesale dealers in building and eoaclimakers* 
hardware, stoves, and every other article in their line. They are admirable business men, and 
have the best facilities for supplying Western merchants. Their warehouse is on Walnut st., 
between Third and Fourth st. Tho largest marble manufactory of tho West is that of Mr. 
Charles Rule, corner of Fifth street and Broadw.iy. Mr Rule furnishes tho marble for tho 
courthouse, Cincinnati; also, for that splendid building, the State House at Columbus. Some 
epecimens of his workmanship which we have seen, surpass everything of the kind which has 
come under our notice in any part of the Union. Tho business transacted at this establish- 
ment averages $150,000 per annum. In this connection, the iron foundry and boiler manufac- 
tory of Messrs. Washington McLean & Co., deserves special notice. This is a colossal manu- 
factory of heavy machinery, boilers, &c , &c, Messrs. John H. Schroder & Co. do an exten- 
sive business in locks of superior construction. Mr. Schroder is the inventor of tho Improved 
Duplex Combination Bank Lock. This firm likewise has the agency for Bacon's Improved 
Burglar Proof Bank Lock. They arc artists of tho first class in their line. Their establish- 
ment is on Third street, between Slain and Walnut streets. Ilcnry Falls, Fourth street, be- 
tween Vine and Walnut streets, operates extensively in the wholesale carpet business. For 
tho extent of his transactions of business, he has no competitor in Cincinnati. The best and 
largest establishment for tho sale of fancy and toilet articles in tho Queen City, is that of Mr. 
John T. Toland, No. 38 W. Front street. Being a cash dealer, Mr. Toland is enabled to sell 
at eastern prices. 

The commerce of Cincinnati has increased three hundred per cent, within the last two years. 
A few years ago, country merchants were accustomed to pass by the Queen City, en roxile for 
Now York, to obtain their supplies ; but, at the present time, Cincinnati supplies tho entire 

(119) 



120 - LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

South and West with all kinds of merchandise. The exports of the city amount to $79,000,. 
000 per annum. Among the most prominent of the wholesale business houses, is that of Mr. S. 
M. Barrett, who is the pioneer of his branch of trade in the West. Mr. Barrett is the largest 
and most extensive manufacturer and dealer in wood and willow ware, such as pails, tubs, 
churns, measures, matches, mats, wrapping paper, cordage, brooms, brushes, wagon spoke?, 
plough handles, &c., Ac, all of which are of Western manufacture, and his esportationa 
amount annually to $200,000. Mr. Barrett is connected with the Ohio Zinc Washboard Fac- 
tory, the Brookville Cotton Manufactory, the Kentucky Hub, Spoke and Wheel Factory, Bart- 
lett & Williams Oak Basket Factory, Peebles & Brothers Candle and Oil Manufactory, and a 
number of other large manufacturing establishments, by which he is kept constantly supplied 
with a full assortment of merchandise. Mr. Barrett's office and warehouse are at the corner 
of Front and Washington streets. 

The traffic in queensware is now an importajit branch of our importing trade- The first 
large importing house, for this trade. West of the mountains, was opened by Wm. S- Sampson 
in 1829, at No. 92 Main street, and this building has been occupied as a wholesale and retail 
china, glass, and queensware establishment up to the present time. It is r.ow occupied by 
Mr. William Anderson, under whose guidance we are sure it will always retain its well-earn- 
ed reputation as the largest and most complete establishment of the kind in the Western coun- 
try. 

FiKE PROOF SAFES. — One of the largest manufacturing establishments is that of Mr. C. Urban, 
who is the oldest safe manufacturer in the "Queen City," having commenced more than 
twelve years ago ; he has by diligence and care succeeded in producing the best safe in 
America. This safe has stood the greatest test to which a safe has ever been subjected, and 
has come out triumphantly. Mr. Urban employs constantly one hundred men, and turns out 
npwpjds of sixty safes per month. Urban's safes are shipped to all parts of the world; every- 
body doing business should have one of these "Fire Proof and Burglar Safes," they are the 
best safes in our opinion in the world — having known them to save thousands of dollars in the 
most intense fires. This establishment is situated on the corner of Columbia and Vine streets. 

Groceries. — Messrs. B. P. Baker & Co. are very extensive dealers in all kinds of Gro- 
ceries. Their store is on the corner of Walnut and Columbia streets. 

Stove and iron foundry. — Messrs. G. W. Ball & Co. are the largest dealers in the Queen 
City ; they ship more stoves to the far West than all the other stove manufactories together. 
Their warehouses are on Main st., Nos. 34 & 36, near Front. 

Boots and shoes, hats and caps. — Messrs. M. E. Reeves & Co., No. 121 Walnut street, 
are very extensive dealers, their success is owing to the fact that they sell at eastern prices. 

Flint glass manufactory. — The largest establishment in the United States for the manu- 
factory of every variety of flint glass, apothecaries' furniture, and chemical apparatus, is that 
of Messrs. Gray, Hemingray & Co. Their sales room is Main street near Front; their manufac- 
tory is in Covington, Ky. 

'Xnere are seven or eight houses in Cincinnati, each of which carries on business to the 
amount of half a million of dollars per annum. One of the largest manufacturing establish- 
ments in this city is that of the "Cincinnati Furniture Company," under the immediate super- 
intendence of H. C. Howard, Esq., whose mechanical skill is not surpassed by that of any other 
man in the United States, and whose energy, perseverance and talents for business eminently 
qualify him to be at the head of a flourishing establishment like this. The members of this 
company are all ^racfica? wiec^aHtcs, consequently they are able, and actually do, turn out 
better work at cheaper rates than any similar establishment in any section of the country. As 
every one connected with this great manufactory has a personal interest in the reputation and 
success of the business, all are concerned in producing superior workmanship. This manu- 
factory supplies almost the whole of the South and West with every description of furniture, 
and the business is rapidly increasing. The office and warerooms are No's. 51 and 53 Vine 
street, below second street. Another expansive business house in Cincinnati, is that of Mr. 
Abia Zellar, wholesale druggist. No. 41 Walnut street, West side, between Columbia and Front 
street. Having a large capital invested in this business, Mr. Zellar buys for cash, pure and 
unadulterated drugs, and can therefore offer greater inducements to the trade than any similar 
establishment in Cincinnati. 

Population of Cincinnati, 210,000. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 121 



BURNING OF THE ERIE. 

This magnificent steamer, Capt. Titus, commander, was destroyed 
bj fire, on Lake Eric, on the IGth day of August, 1841, by which 
calamity more than one hundred and seventy-five persons lost their 
lives. The following account is given of the origin of this disaster. 
Among the passengers on board were six painters, who were going to 
Erie, to paint the steamboat Madison. They had with them several 
large demijohns filled with spirits of turpentine and varnish, which, 
unknown to Capt. Titus, they had placed on the boiler-deck, directly 
over the boilers. One of the firemen who survived the accident, asserts 
that he discovered the dangerous position of these demijohns, a short 
time after the boat left the wharf, and removed them to a safer locality ; 
but some person must have replaced them, without being aware 
of the inflammable nature of the contents. Immediately before the 
fire broke out, a slight explosion was heard ; the sound is said to have 
resembled that which is made by a single puff of a high-pressure steam- 
engine. The supposition is that one of the demijohns bursted, in con- 
sequence of its exposure to the heat. The liquid poured out on the 
boiler-deck instantly took fire, and within a few minutes all that part 
of the boat was in flames. The steamer had recently been painted and 
varnished, and owing to this circumstance, the whole of the wood- 
work was very soon in a blaze. There were two hundred persons on 
board the Erie, and of that number only twenty-seven were saved. 

Mr. Mann, of Pittsford, N. Y., who was one of the passengers, 
gives the following narrative, which comprises a history of this memo- 
rable and most horrifying event. Mr. Mann was walking on the 
promenade deck, in company with a young lady. Miss Sherman, and 
had just reached the point above the boiler-deck where the demijohns 
were placed, when the singular sound spoken of above arrested his 
attention. This report was followed by the ascent of a volumo of black 
smoke, which, as Mr. Mann describes it, " resembled a cloud of coal dust." 
"Without any apprehension of danger, he stopped for a few moments — 
when the smoke subsided, and was instantly succeeded by a red, lurid 
flame, Avhich spread with fearful rapidity, and soon enveloped every 
thing combustible that was within its reach, cracking the sky-li'^hts 
with intense heat, and filling up the space between decks witli wliat ap- 
peared to be a dense red flame. While Mr. Mann was looking around 
for some means of escape, the young lady rushed from him and disap- 
peared ; but in a short time she returned, calling on her father, who, 



122 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters 



being indisposed, had retired a few minutes before to his berth. 
Frantic with alarm for her parent's safety, she was again about to rush 
below, where certain destruction would have met her, when Mr. Mann 
detained her almost by force, promising to render all possible assistance 
to her father as soon as he had provided for her own security. A 
prospect of deliverance now presented itself. Mr. Mann saw a passen- 
ger force up a board which formed a part of the seats that surrounded 
the promenade deck, and throwing it overboard he leaped after it, and 
was enabled by grasping the plank to keep himself afloat. Mr. Mann 
followed this person's example, and succeeded in detaching another 
board, which he hoped to make the means of preserving the life of the 
affrighted girl who clung to his arm. But new difficulties presented 
themselves ; no persuasions could induce Miss Sherman to descend to 
the water. In these embarrassing circumstances, he placed one end of 
the board over the railing at the stern ; Miss Sherman was seated on 
the projecting extremity, and Mr. Mann earnestly entreated some men 
who were clustered around the rudder post, to assist him in lowering 
the plank and the young lady to the water, but no attention was paid 
to his entreaties. Miss Sherman in the meanwhile, being made dizzy 
by her fearful position, fell from the plank, sunk in the river, and was 
seen no more. 







BURNING OP THD BRIE, 



Having failed in his noble attempt to save this young lady, Mr. 
Mann now began to make some effort for his own preservation. 
Glancing around him, he saw Capt. Titus endeavoring to reach the 
ladies' cabin, and heard him give the order to stop the engine. It was 
a moment of overwhelming terror. From bulk-head to rudder, the 
flames were raging with an impetuosity which seemed to mock at all 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 123 

hope of deliverance. The shrieks of many human beings expiring in 
fiery torment within the vessel, and the cries for assistance of m-^ny 
others who wore struggling in the water, almost deprived the listener 
of sense and reflection. The engine seemed to work with a double 
power, as if it were maddened by the appaling character of the 
scene. The flames, as they rushed aft, sounded like the roaring of a 
hurricane, threatening every moment to engulf the boat and every 
affrighted soul on board. Forward of the wheel-house several persons 
were struggling to wrench partially loosened timber from the vessel, 
for the purpose of sustaining themselves in the water. Below and in 
rear of the ladies' cabin, some thirty or forty people were clustered, 
each frantically endeavoring to descend by the rudder chains for safety. 
In this, some had partly succeeded, but were forced off by others 
struggling for the same object. Several persons were hanging from 
the sides of the boat, husbands vainly endeavoring to sustain their 
wives in that position, and mothers their children. But not one of all 
the females whom Mr. Mann saw gathered there, and not one of the 
children, was saved. Wives, mothers, helpless infants, all sunk " with 
bubbling groan" into the deep tomb of waters. 

After making this survey, and abandoning every other hope of escape, 
Mr. ]Mann, who still grasped the board from which the unfortunate young 
lady had fallen, threw it into the lake, and immediately followed it. He 
sunk for a moment, but arose to the surface, fortunately by the side 
of the plank, to which he now clung with desperate energy, as his last 
resource. He had companions in the terrible struggle for life, but they 
were few ; the greater number had already yielded to the mighty con- 
queror. Here was one buffeting the waves, unsustained by any thing 
but his own strength, but that was doubled by the energy of a last 
hope. There was another shrieking for aid, in a voice which became 
fainter every moment, and was interrupted by a gurgling sound which 
foretold a speedy termination of the struggle. From another direction 
came the voice of supplication, the last prayer of a dying man, not for 
deliverance from earthly peril, (for all hope of that had been aban- 
doned,) but for pardon for himself and protection for a Avife and chil- 
dren far distant. Then was heard the shriek of the mother, bewailing 
the child. which she had vainly endeavoured to withhold from the dis- 
tended jaws of death. Turning his agonized gaze to the deck above 
him, Mr. Mann saw many passengers, one after another, throw them- 
selves into the Avater ; the greater number, after a few feeble efforts to 
save themselves from the fate which threatened them, disappeared with 
wild exclamations of terror and despair. 



124 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

When Mr. Mann left the deck of the burning steamer, she was 
driving ahead with a rapid motion ; but having left him on his plank 
about two miles astern, she suddenly veered around, and again ap- 
proached him ; so near did she come, indeed, that he was in danger of 
being engulfed, but contrived, with some difficulty, to get out of her 
way. As the boat passed him, he saw five or six persons hanging to 
the anchor, and about as many more holding on to the pole which sup- 
ported the liberty cap at the bow. All of them appeared to be suffer- 
ing greatly from the heat. Near the bulkhead, a person stood almost 
surrounded by fire ; he held in his hand a piece of white cloth, with 
which he appeared to be bathing his face, which must have been 
severely scorched. When he saw Mr Mann, he begged him, for God's 
sake, to allow him to get on the plank, as he could not swim, and 
therefore dare not leap into the water. Mr. Mann replied that the 
plank would not support two persons, but the suppliant made such pit- 
eous entreaties, that Mr. Mann was about to yield, when a heavy swell 
bore the blazing wreck to a distance, and carried the unhappy sufferer 
beyond the reach of all human aid. 

When Mr. Mann had been in the water about two hours, he was 
taken up by the steamboat De Witt Clinton, which rescued several 
others of the drowning passengers. 

Among others who embarked at Buffalo in this ill-fated boat, were 
two brothers, Charles J. Lynde and Walter Lynde, sons of the Hon. 
Tully Lynde, of Homer, Cortland Co., N. Y. These brothers resided 
at Chicago, and were returning from a visit to their parents. The wife 
of one of these young gentlemen, a lady of superior intellect, was the 
only female passenger saved. She conducted herself throughout the 
whole trying scene with exemplary fortitude and intrepidity. Her 
husband had provided two life preservers, one for her and one for him- 
self. As soon as it became evident that the boat could not be saved, 
Mrs. Lynde fastened her life-preserver around her waist, and fearlessly 
committed herself to the water, expecting that her husband would 
follow immediately. But in this she was disappointed ; her anxious 
gaze searched in vain among the floating objects on the water, for the 
dearest object of her affection. Yet, although she saw him not, she 
had no fears for his safety, as she had seen him put on his life-preserver 
before she left the boat. He was much excited at the time, and she 
exhorted him to be more calm and self-possessed. When the De Witt 
Clinton had taken up all the persons that could be found floating on 
the water, and Mrs. Lynde among the rest, she eagerly sought her hus- 
band among those who had been rescued. He was not there ; but she 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 125 

saw the life-preserver, which she knew to be his, in the possession of a 
German, who was one of the deck passengers. The man declared that 
he had found it in the water, and made it instrumental in saving his 
own life. It was believed by some persons that the German, in order 
to save himself, had wrenched the preserver from Mr. Ljnde ; but the 
more charitable supposition is, that Mr. Lynde, in his excitement and 
agitation, had failed to fasten it securely to his person, so that it came 
oflf at the moment he leaped into the water. 

There was a musical band, consisting of ten persons, on board the 
Erie, all of whom, except two, perished in the conflagration, or in the 
water. 

The following list of the killed, wounded and missing is the most 
complete that could be obtained. 

Killed. — W. M. Camp, Ilarrisburg, Pa. ; Willet "Weeks, Brooklyn, 
N. Y. ; John C. Pool, New York city ; E. S. Cobb, Ann Arbor, 
Mich. ; Otto Fox, wife and three children, N. Y. ; Lloyd Gelston, of 
Erie, clerk; Mr. Joles, steward; Mrs. Giles Williams, Chicago; 
Charles J. Lynde, Milwaukie ; Watts S. Lynde, Homer, N. Y. ; Mrs. 
William H. Smith and child, Schenectady, N. Y. ; A. Scars, Philip 
Barker, Henry Weaver, William Thomas, John Evarts and Peter Fin- 
ney, painters, of Buffalo ; (these six persons last named brought the 
fatal demijohns on board, and are supposed to have placed them in 
their unsafe position ; all six paid with their lives the penalty of their 
indiscretion ;) Miss A. Miller, of Buffalo ; (the brother of this young 
lady, Mr. AV. G. Miller, was the master painter who employed the six 
journeymen named above, and sent them to paint the steamer Madison, 
as mentioned in the preceding narrative ;) J. D. Woodward, N. Y. ; 
W^illiam Gisfin, Miss. ; D. S. Sloan, Geneva ; F. Stowe, Canada ; 
William Sacket, Mich. ; Mrs. Spencer and two children, Mrs. Dow, 
Mrs. and Miss Robinson, and Miss King, Balston Spa., N. Y. ; Mr. 
Moore, lady and two children, moving to Mich. ; lloome Button, Fort 
Plain; Orin Green, Rushville, Yates co., N. Y. ; Charles S. Mather, 
Mount Clemens, Mich. ; Mr. Miltmore, dentist, and wife, of Chicago ; 
Von Ockerman, a German, tinsmith, Buffalo ; Mr. Sherman and 
daughter, and John Harrington, Harrisburg, Erie Co. N., Y. ; Luther 
Tuller, wheelsman ; Frederick Parmalec, bar-keeper ; William Cheats, 
William Winters, and James Reed, colored waiters ; Robert Smith, 
first cook; Henry Vosburg, second cook; David Mills, third cook; 
Israel Vosburg and William Sparks, colored porters ; Dr. Hackett, 
Thompsonian physician, of Lockport, N. Y. The following names are those 
of Swiss emigrants, who were either burned to death or drowned : — 



126 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

Z. Zuggler and family, six persons ; John Hang, wife and child; Mar- 
tin Zulgen and wife ; George Rettenger, wife and child ; George Chris- 
tian and family, five persons ; George Neigold and family, eight per- 
sons ; M. Reibokl, Avife and child ; George Steinman and wife ; Peter 
Kling and sister ; L. Gillig, wife and child ; Peter Schmidt ; John 
Netzel ; Peter Schneider and family, five persons ; J. Newminger and 
family, four persons ; S. Schapler, Avife and three children ; R. Tilling 
and Vt'ife ; C. Obens ; J. Ivorter ; C. Durbur ; M. Lithold, wife, sister- 
in-law and two children ; C. Deiteherich and wife ; C. Wilbur, wife 
and four children ; C. Palmer, wife and three children ; J. Garghum, 
wife and three children ; G. Mulliman, wife and two children ; C. Kel- 
lenman ; C. Mintch, and his companion, name unknown. 

Wounded. — Jerome McBride, wheelsman, badly burned ; three 
Swiss passengers, much injured ; Capt. Titus, master of the Erie ; Mr. 
Rice, of Buffalo, badly burned. 

Among those who perished were a number of infants, not included 
in the preceding list, as no charge was made for their passage, and 
they were therefore not mentioned on the boat's books. 



COLLISION OF THE STEAMBOAT MOXJIOUTII AND THE SHIP 

TREMONT. 

With strict propriety of language, we might call the awful catas- 
trophe about to be particularized, a massacre, a wholesale assassina- 
tion, or anything else but an accident. In some instances, and this 
is one of them, a reckless disregard of human life, when it leads to a 
fatal result, can claim no distinction, on any correct principle of law or 
justice, from wilful and premeditated murder. 

The steamer ^lonmouth left New Orleans, October 23d, 1837, for 
Arkansas river, having been chartered by the U. S. government to con- 
vey about seven hundred Indians, a portion of the emigrant Creek tribe, 
to the region which had been selected for their future abode. On the 
night of the 30th, the Monmouth, on her upward trip, had reached that 
point of the Mississippi called Prophet Island Bend, where she encoun- 
tered the ship Trcmont, which the steamer Warren was then towing down 
the river. Owing partly to the dense obscurity of the night, but much 
more to the mismanagement of the officers of the Monmouth, a collision 
took -place between that vessel and the Tremont, and such was the violence 
of the concussion, that the Monmouth immediately sunk. The unhappy 
red men, with their wives and children, were precipitated into the 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 127 

water ; and such was tlie confusion which prevailed at the time, such 
was the number of the drowning people, who probably clung to each 
other in their struggles for life, that, notwithstanding the Indians, 
men, women and children, are generally expert swimmers, more than 
half of the unfortunate Creeks perished. The captains and crews of 
the steamers Warren and Yazoo, by dint of great exertion, succeeded 
in saving about three hundred of the poor Indians, the remaining four 
hundred had become accusing spirits before the tribunal of a just God, 
Avherc they, whose criminal negligence Avas the cause of this calamity, 
will certainly be held accountable. 

The cabin of the Monmouth parted from the hull, and drifted some 
distance down the stream, when it broke in two parts, and emptied its 
living contents into the river. The stem of the ship came in contact 
with the side of the steamer, therefore the former received but little 
damage, while the latter was broken up, to that degree that the hull, 
as previously stated, almost instantly went to the bottom. The ship 
merely lost her cut-water. 

The mishap, as we have hinted before, may be ascribed to the mis- 
management of the officers of the Monmouth. This boat was running 
in a part of the river where, by the usages of the river and the rules 
adopted for the better regulation of steam navigation on the Missis- 
sippi, she had no right to go, and where, of course, the descending 
vessels did not expect to meet with any boat coming in an opposite 
direction. The only persons attached to the Monmouth who lost their 
lives, were the bar-keeper and a fireman. 

It is not without some feeling of indignation, that we mention the 
circumstance that the drowning of four hundred Indians, the largest 
number of human beings ever sacrificed in a steamboat disaster, 
attracted but little attention, (comparatively speaking,) in any part of 
the country. Even the journalists and news-collectors of that region, 
on the waters of which this horrible affair took place, appear to have 
regarded the event as of too little importance to deserve any particular 
detail ; and accordingly the best accounts we have of the matter mere- 
ly state the outlines of the story, with scarcely a word of commisera- 
tion for the sufferers, or a single expression of rebuke for the heartless 
villains who wantonly exposed the lives of so many artless and con- 
fiding people to imminent peril, or almost certain destruction. 




(128) 



THE OLDEST STEAMBOAT COMPANY IN EXISTENCE. 



The United States' mail line between Cincinnati, Louisville, ami St. Louis, is the oMest 
steamboat line on the Western waters. This company own some of the finest and fleetest 
boats in the world. The corapanj' was organized in ISIS, and have continued together ever 
since, adding finer and better boats to the line every year. In 1S18 this company built the 
steamer "Gen. Pike," which was the first boat ever constructed exclusiveli/ for passengers. 
She run between Louisville and Cincinnati, making her trips in one day and sra-en hours, a feat 
which is now performed in nine or ten hours by this company's boats. The Gen. Pike was first 
commanded by Capt. Bliss; afterwards by Capt. Penewitt and Capt. John M. Rowan. In the 
clerk's office of this pioneer boat was Jacob Strader, Esq., now president of the Little Miami 
Rail Road Company, and lately president of the Commercial Bank, Cincinnati. She was a 
very prosperous boat and did an immense business. In a few years afterwards the trade 
between Louisville and Cincinnati so rapidly increased that it became necessar)' for the com- 
pany to build larger and better boats, and then commenced the long list of steamers. Gen. 
Pikes, Pikes, and Ben. Franklins, the names of which at the present time are a? familiar to 
the Western public as household words. In 1S47 the wants of the travelling public demanded 
a daily lino from Cincinnati to St. Louis, and this enterprising company immediately built 
ten largo and elegant steamers and placed them in that trade, and the line has been in opera- 
tion ever since with marked success. Before this line of fleet steamers went into operation, 
the time between the two ports was seldom made in less than four or five days. Now the 
time is made from the Falls of Ohio to St. Louis in from thirty-nine to forty-four hours, almost 
rivalling the iron horse in speed, and far surpassing it in accommodations. 

The company frequently add finer and larger boats to their lines, as may become 
necessary to the welfare and safety of the public. Possessing almost unlimited capital, they 
have recently constructed two of the fleetest and most gorgeousl}' furnished boats now 
afloat, viz : the low-pressure steamer Jacob Strader and Telegraph No. 3; costing, in the aggre- 
gate, nearly four hundred thousand dollars. The cabins of the boats rival in grandeur the 
finest palaces, while their speed is equal to eighteen miles per hour. In short, we owe to this 
company, in a great measure, that reputation for superior architecture and equipments) which 
the western steamboats have acquired ; a reputation which is conceded to them by all travellers, 
and which places them beyond all rivalship, either in this country or Europe. 

The boats named in the following list compose the present line : 

From Cincinnati to Louisi'illc, the low-pressure steamers Jacob Strader, Capt. Summon?, 
and Telegraph No. 3, Capt. Ilildreth, connecting at Louisville for St. Louis with the eleg.mt 
low-pressure steamers Southerner, Capt. Catterlin, Northerner, Capt. Erwin, Ben Franklin, 
Capt. Dollis, Moses McLellon, Capt. Barker, High Flyer, Capt. Wright, Fashion No. 2, Capt. 
Reed, and Alvin Adams, Capt. Boiess. This lino connects at Cincinnati, Louisville and St. 
Louis with the railroa<h and steamboats, north, east, west and south. An extraordinary and 
most gratifying circumstance, in connection with the history of this steamboat company, should 
not escape our notice. Not a single explosion, nor any other frightful disaster, has occurred 
on any of the boats since the company was first organized, comprising a period of almost fifty 
years. Thus we have it demonstrated that the greatest speed in steamboat travel maj', under 
proper management, be consistent with the most perfect security. 

9 ( 129) 



130 Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 



BURNINa OF THE WASHINGTON. 

A new and elegant steamboat called the Washington, was burned on 
Lake Erie, opposite Silver creek, June 16th, 1838. In the early part 
of the preceding night, the Washington passed the steamer North 
America, while the latter lay at the town of Erie. On the following 
morning, about three o'clock, when the North America was within three 
miles of Buffalo, the helmsman discovered a brilliant light, which ap- 
peared to rise from the bosom of the lake in the direction of Silver 
creek. The North America was immediately put about, and steered 
for the scene of the apprehended disaster. On approaching the spot, 
about six o'clock, the burning hull of the Washington was found driving 
before the wind, about four miles from land, and not a living object 
could be discovered on board. The surface of the lake v/as literally 
covered with hats, bonnets, trunks, baggage and blackened fragments 
of the wreck. 

The intense anxiety of those who beheld this fearful scene for the 
fate of the passengers and crew of the AVashington, was partially 
relieved by the discovery of several small boats near the shore, in which 
it was supposed that some who had embarked in the Washington were 
probably saved. In fact, the alarm had been given at the town of 
Silver Creek as soon as the flames were perceived from the shore, and 
all the boats that could be found were sent to rescue the sufferers. 
There were only three skiffs, however, which could be employed in this 
service ; but these, together with the yawl of the Washington, were the 
means of saving all who could be found on the steamer, and all Avho 
were still floating on the water when the skiffs arrived. But, in the 
meanwhile, a number, variously estimated from thirty to sixty, had per- 
ished. Six dead bodies, those of two women and four children, were 
picked up by the boats near the burning wreck. One man died of his 
injuries soon after he reached the shore, and a child was found dead 
in its mother's arms when taken out of the lake. The mother survived, 
though she was insensible when found in the water, clasping her dead 
infant to her bosom. 

The origin of the fire is not well explained, but it appears that the 
flames broke out in the immediate neighbourhood of the boiler. The 
helm was immediately put about, and the head of the boat directed to 
the shore, but within a few minutes, the wheel ropes were severed by 
the fire, and the boat became an unmanageable wreck. Had iron rods, 
instead of ropes, been used in the construction of the steering apparatus, 



Lloyd's steamboat disasteks. 131 

it is hislily probable that every individual on board would have been 
saved, for in that case the boat could have reached the shore without 
difficulty. The surviving passengers unanimously testified that no blame 
could be attached to Capt. Brown, the commander of the "Washington. 
The names of the victims, with the usual allowance for defective reports, 
are subjoined. 

Persons Drowned or Burnt to Death. — Capt. Clemens, of Dud- 
ley, Mass. ; Conrad Shurtz, and "William Shurtz, Avifc and three chil- 
dren, Clinton, N. Y. ; AVm. Sheld, St. Lawrence ; Mr. Baker, wife and 
three children (one child of Mr. Baker was saved.) A Scotchman, 
name unknown, lost three children, together with his mother and sister. 
Several of the survivors, whose names are not given, were badly burned 
before they left the boat. 

The "Washington was built at Ashtabula ; she was not more than six 
months old, and had made but one trip before -the one which was inter- 
rupted by tills deplorable accident. 



EXPLOSION OF THE WALKER. 

This explosion took place on Lake Ponchartrain, on the 2d day of 
December, 1810. The particulars were never published before. The 
following list of the killed and wounded was furnished by D. II. Ry- 
der, who was clerk of the "Walker at the time of the explosion : 

Killed — J. S. Harper ; John Pierson, steersman ; G. E. Seden- 
berg, of Baltimore ; A. Budd, J. Cloon, Z. Ferrell, Smith. 

Badly Scalded — J. H. White, of Tennessee ; J. Bellow, of New 
Orleans ; ]\Ir, Lanier, Mr. Nelson, pilot, and R. Roach, deck hand. 

Slightly Scalded — Capt. J. A. Otway, J. II. Caldwell, Esq., and 
four stevedores from Mobile Bay, names unknown. 

Missing — John Dean and Wm. Powell, stevedores. 

The accident is ascribed to the "weakness of the boiler," and not to 
any omission of duty on the part of those who had charge of the en- 
gines. 







(132) 



SKETCH OF LOUISVILLE 



LorisviLLE, situated on the south bank of the Ohio river, in Jefferson county, Kentucky, 
is the largest town of the State, and one of the most flourishing and important places in tho 
Western country. Its location is at the head of the Falls of the Ohio, one hundred and forty- 
three miles below Cincinnati, and four hundred and eighteen miles from tho mouth of 
the Ohio, in lat 38° 3' N., long. 85° 30' W. The appearance of the city from every point 
of view is striking and elegant, and the surrounding scenery is picturesque and beauti- 
ful. A delightful view of tho Falls of the Ohio, and other interesting objects, may be obtained 
from the city wharf. Louisville stands on a plain or plateau, elevated about seventy-six^eet 
above low-water mark. The city is regularly laid out, the streets are spacious and we.^.pa- 
ved, and the buildings, public and private, are well constructed, with a view to permanence as 
well as beauty. Twelve handsome streets, parallel with the river, extend to a length of about 
two miles each. The direction of these streets is East and West, and their breadth varies 
from sixty to one hundred feet, and are intersected at right angles by more than forty others, 
having an uniform breadth of sixty feet; they are kept in the cleanest order, and are lighted 
with gas and bordered by ornamental shade trees. In short, tho streets of Louisville are, for 
beauty and convenience, unrivaled in any of the Atlantic cities. 

The most remarkable public buildings are the City Hall and Court House, the First Pres- 
byterian Church, St. Paul's Church, tho Medical Institute, and the University of Louisville, 
which is now in successful operation. Tho Medical Institute, which holds a high rank among 
similar institutions in the United States, was founded by an ordinance of the City Council, 
which appropriated $50,000 for the building and library. The number of students in 1S55 
■was more than one thousand. The Asylum for the Blind, established by the State, is a large 
and beautiful building. The Mercantile Library Association has a library containing betwcea 
nine and ten thousand volumes. The Historical Society of Louisville has collected many 
valuable documents relating to the early history of the Citj' and State. Louisville contains a 
Marine Asylum, founded by tho State of Kentucky. Another extensive Marino Asylum for 
indigent boatmen has recently been erected here, by the United States' government. Besides 
these public establishments, there are three orphan asylums, about fifty churches, two hand- 
some Jewish synagogues, ten banks, and six large buildings for public schools. A new Custom 
Ilouse is being erected at a cost of $200,000. Seven daily newspapers, eight weeklies, and 
one monthly medical Journal, are published in this city, 

Louisville may be said to owe its existence, in a measure, to the Falls, which interrupt the 
navigation of the river at this point. In 1833, a canal, two and a half miles long, was opened 
around these rapids; it was cut through the solid limestone rock, at a cost of nearlj' one 
million dollars. Boats exceeding one hundred and eighty-five feet in length cannot pass 
through the locks of this canal, a circumstance which greatly impedes navigation, and is like- 
wise a serious disadvantage to Louisville, as all tho freights for the large New Orleans and 
St. Louis steamers must be conveyed on drays to Portland, which is three miles below Louis- 
ville, 

The canal was originally tho joint-property of the United States and individual stockhold- 
ers. The rates of tonnage for vessels passing through were formerly exorbitant, and tho 
stockholders have all become rich at the expense of tho boatmen. However, through th8 

(133) 



334 SKETCH OF LOUISVILLE. 

nntiring exertions of the Hon. Wm. Preston, late member of Congress from that district, tho 
United States government was induced, in the year 1854, to buy out the interest of the pri- 
vate stockholders. The canal is now under the charge of a superintendent, appointed by gov- 
ernment, and the rates of tonnage are no more than is required to keep the canal in repair. 
The canal could easily be made passable for boats of the largest class; this great improve- 
ment is now under consideration, and will probably be carried into effect. 

In 1850 the entire trade of Louisville was estimated at $55,000,000. The commerce of 
the city is now believed to reach a much larger amount. There are one hundred and one 
houses, which do an exclusively wholesale business, to the amount of $26,341,400 per annum. 
The number of boat arrivals at Louisville in 1854 was 3,500. The principal articles of ex- 
port are flour, hemp, and tobacco. The very best steamboats now afloat were built at this 
city. Some of these boats have made the voyage from New Orleans, against the current, to 
Louisville, a distance of 1486 miles, in little more than four days, a performance which ap- 
pears to be almost miraculous. 

The manufactures of Louisville amount to about $10,000,000. There are twenty-one iron 
foundries, employing 1900 workmen ; one hundred and eight tobacco factories, giving em- 
ployment to 1800 persons ; forty-five clothing manufactories, employing 1260 persons ; thirty- 
six furniture manufactories, employing 612 persons; fourteen rope-walks, with 290 workmen; 
eleven soap and candle factories ; eleven flour and feed mills ; twelve tanneries ; four cotton 
and lyoollen factories; four oil factories; three of white lead, and numerous other manufac- 
turing establishments. 

The population of Louisville in 1830, was 10,341; in 1840, 21,210; in 1850, 46,180; in 
1852, 60,000; and in 1856, 80,000. 



EXPLOSION OF THE MOHICAN. 

The steam tow-boat Mohican, on the 19th day of February, 1842, while engaged, together 
with the tow-boat Star, in towing the British ship Edward Thorn across a bar near New Orleans, 
burst all her boilers, causing tho death often or twelve persons. The Mohican took fire im- 
mediately after the explosion, and was entirely consumed. One of the boilers of the exploded 
vessel was found on the forecastle of the ship in tow. The accident is ascribed to a deficiency 
of water in the boilers. 

Lieutenant Bukup, one of the revenue ofBcers stationed at the Balize, was blown from the 
deck of the Mohican to the deck of the Star, and was killed instantly. The mate of the English 
ship was killed, and the Captain was dangerously wounded. Capt. Heaton, of the Mohican, 
was much injured, and two engineers, two firemen, and three deck hands, belonging to the 
same boat, were killed. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 135 



COLLISION OF THE BELLE OF CLAEKSYILLE AND LOUISIANA. 

On tliG niglit of December 14, 1844, a disastrous collision took place 
on the I\Iississipi river, between the steamers Belle of Clarksville and 
Louisiana, the former from New Orleans, bound to Nashville ; the lat- 
ter, from Memphis to New Orleans. Both vessels were heavily laden. 
The Belle of Clarksville was completely demolished. The hull parted 
from the cabin and sunk immediately, the cabin floating off with a 
number of passengers inside, all of whom were saved. None were 
drowned but deck passengers, and some of the crew of the boat. The 
Louisiana was immediately brought around, and every exertion was 
made by the captain and crew to save those persons Avho were floating 
on small pieces of the wreck. The detached cabin grounded about 
half a mile below the place Avhere the boats came in contact. All the 
cargo and the baggage of the passengers was lost. The boat was la- 
den with sugar, salt, coffee, and molasses. Mr. J. II. French, one of 
the passengers, had with him three negro slaves, and three valuable 
horses, among them the celebrated Ann Hayes; these slaves and 
horses were all drowned. The iron safe containing $12,000 was 
saved. The cargo was insured at New Orleans for $23,000 ; the 
boat for $8,000. 

The following are the names of the persons drowned : 

Deck Passengers — W. Tabb, P. iinn, W. Linn, J. Byan, A. 
Malisle, N. Sills, Wm. Jones, T. Whitley, N. T. Allen, A. Kirland, 
J. Askew, G. Ilyer, a son of J. W. Hall, J. Peay, and four colored 
men. 

Boat's Crew — John Holliday, assistant engineer, and twelve color- 
ed firemen, names not given. 



COLLISION OF THE FORREST AND PULASKL 

On Friday night. May 5th, 1843, at 11 o'clock, as the steamer For- 
rest was lying to, to put ofl" a passenger, about twenty miles above the 
mouth of the Alleghany river, with her head down stream, she was run 
into by the steamboat Pulaski, which was coming up the river with 
about one hundred and fifty passengers. The bow of the Forrest struck 
the side of the Pulaski opposite the boilers. The boilers were thrown 
down, the steam-pipes separated, and the steam rushed out among the 
passengers, scalding many of them in a terrible manner. The side of 



llll!!¥rilSll|1ll'l!ii!!lll«lflllll!ll!lii|lll!'« -| ,:ii J|i,lh .^. imBgSi 

■■' ^ -''^'^ mm 




(136) 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 137 

the Pulaski being broken up by the collision, the boat almost immedi- 
ately sunk, leaving the boiler-deck above water. Five or six persons, 
names unknown, were thrown overboard and drowned. One of these 
floated past the Forrest, calling pitcously for assistance, but before it 
could be afforded him the current had swept him aAvay. Another was 
drawn in under the wheel and drowned. One young man swam ashore 
after throwing himself from the cabin window of the Pulaski. 

The following list of the sufferers was furnished by the officers of 
the wrecked steamer : 

Badly Scalded — "Wm. Coon, Erie co., N. Y. ; Michael Hawkins, 
steward of the Pulaski ; Sheridan McCullough, of lied Bank, Pa. ; 
James Gibson, Crawford co., Pa. ; Joseph Hughes, Jefferson co.. Pa. ; 
and Wing. ^ 

We have not been able to learn the names of the persons who were 
drowned. 



SINKING OF THE SHEPHERDESS. 

On the 3d of January, 1844, the whole city of St. Louis was thrown 
into consternation and feverish excitement by the intelligence that the 
steamboat Shepherdess had been wrecked in Cahokia Bend, only three 
miles from the centre of that city, and that many lives had been lost. 
Several boats were immediately despatched to the scene of the report- 
ed disaster, and the worst rumors were unhappily verified. The par- 
ticulars of the sad event are given below : 

The Shepherdess, while ascending the Mississippi river on her way 
from Cincinnati to St. Louis, at 11 o'clock, in a dark and stormy night, 
struck a snag just above the mouth of Cahokia creek. The concussion 
was very severe, and it is believed that several planks must have been 
torn from the bottom of the boat. According to the report of the offi- 
cers, the number of passengers was between sixty and seventy. Most 
of those who were in the gentlemen's cabin had retired to their berths ; 
four or five gentlemen in this cabin were sitting up by the stove, as it 
was cold winter weather. The ladies were generally undressed for the 
night. In less than two minutes after the boat struck, the water rose 
to the lower deck, where most of the passengers in that part of the 
boat were asleep. The Captain, who was on duty, ran to the cabin 
occupied by the ladies, and assured them that there was no danger ; 
he then returned to the forecastle, and is supposed to have been ■ft^ished 
overboard, as nothing was seen or heard of him afterwards. As soon 
as the shock was felt on board, one of the pilots attempted to descend 



138 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 



into the hold for the purpose of examining the leak, but he had scarcely 
entered when the rush of water drove him back. 

About this time shrieks and exclamations of aiiright and distress 
arose from the deck below, and several ladies, who hastened to the 
stern-railing, reported that thej saw a number of persons strugglino" 
in the river. Certain it is that the water rushed in with tremendous 
rapidity, and before three minutes had elapsed it had risen to the floor 
of the upper cabin. Some of those persons who were on deck saved 




SINKING OP THE SHEPHERDESS. 



themselves by getting into the yawl, which was cut loose and rowed to 
the shore with a broom. The water rose so rapidly that it soon be- 
came necessary for all to seek safety on the hurricane deck. This po- 
sition was not attained without great difiiculty, for the bow had sunk 
so deep in the water that the only access was the stern. However, it 
is believed that all the people from the cabin succeeded in reaching 
the hurricane roof. In the meanwhile the boat was drifting down the 
stream, and a few hundred yards below, she struck another snag, which 
rose above the surface. This threw the steamer nearly on her beam 
ends on the larboard side. Drifting from this snag, she again lurched 
to starboard. At each lurch several persons were washed off; some 
of them reached the shore, .but many were drowned. A short distance 
below, just above the first shot-tower, the hull struck a bluff-bank, 
which again careened the boat nearly on her side. Here the hull and 
cabin parted ; the former sunk and lodged on a bar above Carondelet, 
while the cabin floated down to the point of the bar below that place, 
where it lodged and became stationary. 

The steamer Henry Bry was lying at the shot-tower above Caron- 
delet, and as the cabin passed, the captain of that vessel, being aroused 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 139 

by tlie cries of the passengers, took his yawl to their rescue. This little 
boat could only take off a few at a time, but by the strenuous exertions 
of the captain of the Bry many were saved. This humane gentleman 
almost sacrificed himself in the work of benevolence, and did not desist 
until he was covered Avith a mass of ice, and benumbed to that degree 
that further effort was impossible. About three o'clock the ferry-boat 
Icelander came down, and took off all who remained in the detached 
cabin. 

AVe have thus given a general history of this calamity, but some par- 
ticular incidents deserve the reader's attention. A young man, Robert 
Bullock, of ^laysville, Ky., was one of the passengers. "Witli heroic 
devotion to the cause of humanity, he took no measures for his own 
safety, but directed all his efforts to the preservation of the women 
and children. When every other male person of mature age had de- 
serted the cabin, he went from state-room to state-room, and wherever he 
heard a child cry took it out and passed it to the hurricane deck. In 
this way he saved a number of women and children. His last effort 
was to rescue Col. AYood's " Ohio Fat Girl," who happened to be on 
board. Her weight was four hundred and forty pounds, but with the 
assistance of several persons on the hurricane deck, he succeeded in 
raising her to that place of security. A short time after, the boat 
made a lurch, and Bullock was thrown into the water. He swam to 
the Illinois shore, having previously given his coat to a lady on the 
wreck who was suffering excessively from cold. On reaching the land 
this young hero found two young ladies, who had been put ashore in 
a skiff, and who were nearly frozen. They were about falling asleep, 
which would have been fatal in such circumstances, when Bullock arous- 
ed them, and with great exertions succeeded in getting them to Cohokia, 
where they met with the attention which their half-frozen condition 
required. 

An English family, from the neighborhood of Manchester, ten in 
number, were all saved. Five of them succeeded in getting to the 
Illinois shore, four to the Missouri side of the river, and one Avas taken 
off the wreck by the ferry-boat. They were all re-united on this boat 
at Cohokia, at a moment when each party supposed the other to be 
dead. A spectator of that re-union avers that he never witnessed a 
more affecting scene. 

Mr. Muir, of Virginia, and his brother, were on board, with their 
mother and nine of their slaves. "With the exception of seven of the 
slaves, all of these persons were saved. Levi Craddock, from David- 
son Co., Tcnn., lost three children; himself, his wife, and two children 



140 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

were saved. Mr. Green, of the same county and state, lost his wife 
and three children, and was left with two helpless infants, the youngest 
only three months old. Mr. Snell, formerly of Louisville, Ky., lost a 
son and daughter. Mr. Wright, of Mecklenburg Co., Va., and two of 
his children, were drowned. His wife, who survived, was in a state of 
distraction. The Captain, A. Howell, of Covington, Ky.^was undoubt- 
edly lost. He was in the act of ringing the bell, when the boat made 
a lurch, by which the boilers, part of the engine, and the chimneys, 
were carried overboard, Capt. H. being overwhelmed among the ruins, 
and he sunk with them. He left a wife and eleven children, the eldest 
of whom, a son, was with him on the wreck. 

The bodies of two children, who had perished with cold, were brought 
up to St. Louis. Considering how many children were on board, it is 
surprising that more of these helpless beings Avere not lost. The Mayor 
of St. Louis, who personally assisted in relieving the sufferers, caused 
all who were saved alive to be taken to the Virginia hotel, where they 
were amply provided for. Forty persons are believed to have perished 
in this wreck. The Rev. Mr. Peck, of Illinois, who was on board at 
the time, makes the estimate much lai'ger. One of the St. Louis pa- 
pers averred that the number of persons lost was not less than seventy. 

Capt. Howell had lately bought the Shepherdess, and this was her 
first trip after she became his property. 



DESTRUCTIVE AND FATAL TORNADO AT NATCHEZ. 

On the 7th day of May, 1840, the city of Natchez, Miss., was 
visited by a tornado, Avhich occasioned an immense destruction of 
property and great loss of life. Several steamboats were destroyed at 
the wharves of Natchez, and many persons who had embarked in them 
as passengers were drowned. A large number of flat boats, likewise, 
were wrecked by the tremendous gale, and a number of boatmen, sup- 
posed to be two -hundred or more, in the aggregate, perished. A tax 
had recently been laid on flat-boats at Vicksburg, on which account 
many of them had dropped down to Natchez, so that there was an un- 
usually large number of these boats collected at the last-named city at 
the time of the tornado. 

The steamboat Hinds was blown out into the stream and sunk, and 
all the passengers and crew, except four men, were lost. It is not 
known how many passengers were on this boat. The captain was sup- 
posed to have been saved, as he was seen on shore a short time before 
the gale commenced, but as nothing was heard of him afterwards, it 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



141 




AT NATCHEZ. 



is conjectured that lie must have returned to the boat, and shared the 
fate of his crew and passengers. The wreck of the Hinds was after- 
wards found at Baton Rouge, with fifty-one dead bodies on board, 
forty-eight of whom were males, and three females ; among the latter was 
one little girl about three years old. 

The steamboat Prairie had just arrived from St, Louis, freighted with 
lead. Iler upper Avorks, down to the deck, were swept off, and the 
whole of the crew and passengers are supposed to have been drowned. 
The number of the passengers is not known, but four ladies, at least, 
were seen on board a short time before the disaster. The steamboat 
H. Lawrence and a sloop were in a somewhat sheltered position at the 
Cotton Press. They were severely damaged, but not sunk. The steam 
ferry-boat was sunk, and also the wharf-boat " Mississippian," which was 
used as a hotel, grocery, (fee. Of one hundred and twenty flat-boats, 
which lay at the landing, all were lost except four, and very few of the 
men employed on board were saved. 

We give the names of some of the victim's, but a great majority of 
the persons drowned could never be identified. 

Drowned. — William Stubbs and John Ervin, Louisville ; David 
McGowan, C. Butler, Andrew Filer, Absalom Wilson, A Terry, D. 
Garsford, M. Dunn, E. Booker, B. Floncy, and C. Carter and two 
children, of New York; W. Williams and wife, of St. Louis; E. McFaul, 
of Boston ; James Orr, of Natchez ; Y. Budhim, of Ind. ; Thomas Rod- 
gcrs, of Cairo, 111. ; D. Ewing, M. Dinwiddie, and W. Johnston, wife 
and two children, of Pittsburgh, Pa. ; C. Phelps, G. Phillips, and Dr. 
Brady, of Ind. ; Marcus Austin, of New Amsterdam, Ind. ; M. Tooley, 
Philadelphia, Pa. ; B. Shreve and Miss Margaret Haskell, Ky. ; Mrs. 



142 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

Watkins, Ohio; Mrs. Jones, Louisiana; Mrs. Dwight and daughter, 
Wis. ; Miss Hardy, 111. ; Mrs. Walters and infant, Vicksburg ; Duncan 
Sherman, John Root, and C. Y. Bunner, Ala. 

Besides these, about two hundred fiat boatmen, (names unknown,) 
•were ascertained to have been lost. The total loss of life is estimated 
at four hundred. For its violence and destructive eiFects, this tornado 
was without precedent in the recollection of the oldest inhabitant of 
that region. The water in the river was agitated to that degree that 
the best swimmers could not sustain themselves on the surface. The 
waves rose to the height of ten or fifteen feet. Many houses in the 
vicinity of Natchez were blown down, and many buildings in the city 
were unroofed; the roofs, in some instances, being carried half-way 
across the river. People found it impossible to stand on the shore. 
One man was blown from the top of the hill, (sixty feet high,) and fell 
into the river forty yards from the bank. Heavy beams of timber and 
other ponderous objects were blown about like straws. Great was the 
consternation of the inhabitants of Natchez and its neighborhood, and 
owing to this cause, perhaps, many persons were drowned for want of 
prompt assistance. When the first alarm had somewhat subsided, the 
citizens hastened to the river, rescued some who were still living from 
the water, and recovered hundreds of dead bodies before they were 
swept away by the rapid current. 



EXPLOSION OF THE LUCY WALKER, OCT. 25, 1844. 

This event is especially remarkable on account of the unusual compli- 
cation of calamities, (if we may so speak,) which attended it ; the ex- 
plosion, the burning and the sinking of the vessel, all occurring within 
a few minutes. The Lucy Walker, Capt. Vann, was descending the 
river, and when about four miles below New Albany, Indiana, some 
part of the machinery got out of order, and the boat was stopped to 
make repairs. During this pause, the water in the boilers was 
measurably exhausted, and about five minutes after the engine ceased 
working, three of the boilers exploded with tremendous violence and 
terrible effect. 

The principal force of the explosion took an upward direction ; and 
the consequence was that all that part of the boat situated above the 
boilers was blown into thousands of pieces. The U. S. snag-boat Go- 
phar, Capt. L. B. Dunham, was about two hundred yards distant at 
the time of the explosion. Capt. Dunham was immediately on the 



LLOYD S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS 



143 



spot, rescuing those who had been thrown into the water, and affording 
all other assistance in his power. Having been a spectator of the scene, 
with all its horrors, this gentleman has furnished a narrative, to which 
we are indebted for many of the facts related in this article. lie states 
that such Avas the force of the explosion, that, although the Lucy Wal- 
ker was in the middle of the river, many fragments of wood and irott 
were thrown on shore. At the moment of the accident, the air ap- 
peared to be filled with human beings, with dissevered limbs and other 
fragments of human bodies. One man was blown to the height of fifty 
yards, as the narrator judges, and fell with such force as to pass en- 
tirely through the deck. Another was cut in two by a piece of the 
boiler Many other incidents, equally distressing and horrifying, are 
related. Before Capt, Dunham could reach the spot where the wreck 
lay, he saw many persons who had been blown overboard perish in the 
water. But it was his good fortune to save the lives of a large num- 
ber, by throwing them boards and ropes, and pulling them on board 
with boat-hooks. Immediately after the explosion, the ladies' cabin 
took fire and burned with great rapidity, but before it was consumed, 
the steamer sunk in twelve feet water. Thus the whole tragedy was 
completed within a few minutes. * 




EXPLOSION Oi' lUl:, 



The screams and exclamations of the ladies and the other survivors 
are represented as awful and distressing in the extreme. However, 
most of the females escaped ; a very few of them are supposed to have 
been drowned, but none of those who sui^^d were injured. The books 
of the boat were destroyed ; of course it will ever be impossible to 
ascertain all the names or the number of those who perished. There 
were at least fifty or sixty persons killed or missing, and fifteen or 



144 Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 

twenty wounded, some of them very seriously. Capt. Dunham took off 
the wounded and left them at New Albany, where they were suitably 
provided for by the hospitable and benevolent citizens of the place. 

The following are the names of the killed, wounded and missing, as 
far as we have been able to learn : 

. Killed or Missing. — Gen. J. W. Pegram, of Richmond, Va.'; 
Samuel M. Brown, Post-Office agent, of Lexington, Ky. ; J. Pt. Cormick, 
of Virginia ; Charles Dunn, pilot, of Louisville, Ky. ; Philip Wallis, for- 
merly of Baltimore, Md. ; Rebecca, daughter of A. J. Foster, of Green- 
ville, Va. ; James Vanderburg, of Louisville, Ky. ; Mr. Hughes, for- 
merly of Lexington, Ky. ; Mr. Matlock, of New Albany, Ind. ; engi- 
neer of the steamboat Mazeppa ; Nicholas Ford, formerly of Baltimore, 
Md. ; David Vann, master of the Lucy Walker ; Moses Kirby, pilot of 
the same ; second mate, second clerk, second engineer, and bar-keeper 
of the boat, names not mentioned. 

Wounded. — Four negro firemen ; W. H. Peebler, Mr. Rainer, of 
Virginia, and the first engineer, all badly hurt ; Capt. Thomson, pilot, 
both arms fractured ; Mr. Roberts, of Philadelphia, slightly hurt. 

Two persons, John W. Johnson and Richard Phillips, are supposed 
to have been in the boat. They were not seen after the explosion, and 
it was generally believed that they were lost. Another account says, 
" We understand that the bodies of Nicholas Ford, Philip Wallis, S. 
M. Brown, and a little girl, killed by the explosion of the Lucy Walker, 
have been taken from the river, and decently interred by the citizens 
of West Point." 

Additional Incidents. — The Rev. Mr. Todd, of Natchez, was 
blown overboard, but saved himself by swimming. At New Albany^ 
when the dead bodies and the wounded were brought to that city, the 
stores and other places of business were generally closed, flags were 
lowered, and the whole town wore the aspect of mourning. 

Mr. Wren, of Yazoo, Miss., was thrown from the boilei'-deck, and 
fell near the bow of the boat, in a state of insensibility. When he 
recovered his senses, he saw his little son, six or seven years old, with 
the flames raging around him, in the upper part of the boat. He 
watched the movements of the child, as every parent will believe, with 
intense anxiety. Soon he saw the boy leap overboard ; the river was 
covered with planks and mattresses, and the lad went from fragment 
to fragment, until he succeed^I in getting on a mattress which would 
support him in the water. The agonized father, who was unable to 
rise from the spot where he lay, continued to watch the progress of 
his little son, until he saw him taken ofl" the mattress by the crew of 



Lloyd's steaxMboat disasters 145 

Capt. Dunham's boat. Who shall attempt to imagine, much less to 
describe, the feelings of the father at that moment ? 

A man and his wife and four daughters were saved separately, and in. 
different ways. Their subsequent meeting must have been most joyous. 
A little girl was found clinging to the wreck when the flames were so 
near that she was constrained to dash water on one side of her face, to 
protect it from the intense licat. A man was on the hurricane-deck 
with his wife and little daughter, at the time of the explosion. IIo 
dropped the lady aft into the yawl, and saw that she was safe; he then 
threw the child into the stream, and although suffering severely with 
a sprained ankle and other hurts, he plunged in, and saved both him- 
self and his little girl by swimming. 

Pieces of the boiler were thrown on the Kentucky shore, and it is 
said that some of them were no thicker than a half dollar. "When, 
where, or by whom could they have been inspected ? 

The Lucy Walker was built at Cincinnati, ami finished only about 
nine months before the fatal termination of her career. 



TERRIFIC EXPLOSION OF THE WILMINGTON". 

The steamer Wilmington, bound from New Orleans to St. Louis, 
burst a boiler at daylight, on the morning of the 18th of November, 
1839, when near the mouth of Arkansas river. The boilers, engines, 
and upper works were entirely demolished. In fact, there never was a 
more terrific explosion, although the loss of life was small, owing to 
there being few passengers on board 

List of the Killed. — One of the pilots, Mr. Andrew Helms, who 
was standing near the stern of the boat, was blown overboard and 
drowned ; Julius Fisk, the first engineer ; Paul Johnson, second en- 
gineer, mortally wounded ; William Ilasker, John Freeman, C. Smith, 
John Rhoades and Dr. Brant, New Orleans ; William AVills, South 
Carolina ; C. Ebert, and nine wounded. 

The Wilmington had just started from a wood-yard, and was under 
full headway when the explosion took place. The boat was completely 
riddled with pieces of iron flying through the cabin. The dead were 
buried at the mouth of the Arkansas river. 

10 




(146) 



SKETCH OF CAIRO. 



Cairo is advnntageously situated in Alexandria County, Illinois, at the southern extremity 
of the State, on a point of land formed b}' the confluence of the Ohio and Missiiisippi river?, 
one hundred and eighty-four miles below St. Louis, and one thousand miles above New Orleans. 
The situation of this town at the junction of these two great rivers, affords one of the finest posi- 
tions for a commercial city that can be found in the Western States; but owing to some natu- 
ral defects in the locality, the growth of the place has been less rapid than it would have been 
in more favorable circumstances. The banks of the Ohio at this point arc low, and the sur- 
rounding country is still lower; the whole tract of land, therefore, is liable to inundation at 
the periodical rising of the river. These occasional overflows, and the marshy nature of the 
soil, are supposed to affect the health of the neighborhood ; but by the industry and ingenuity 
of man these natural disadvantages have already been removed, to some extent, and there is no 
reason to doubt that all such obstacles to the improvement of the place will, in the course of 
time, be entirely removed. A levee or embankment, twenty-six feet high, has been erected, 
at a cost of $1,000,000, to protect the town and adjacent country from overflows. Since this 
great work was completed, Cairo has improved very rapidly. It is the southern terminus of 
the Illinois Central Railroad, (the largest railroad in the United States,) which extends to 
Chicago and Rock Island. A line of first class steamers will soon be in operation between 
Cairo and New Orleans, leaving each place daily, and conveying the United States mail. 
, The largest wharf-boat in the world, two hundred and thirty-six feet in length, is stationed 
at this place, under the superintendence of Messrs. Fowler & Norton, Freight and United 
States Mail Agents, and dealers in groceries and produce. This aquatic establishment affords 
great facilities to the boats in obtaining supplies, and in the shipment of freight. Messrs. 
Fowler & Norton are also freight agents for the Illinois Central Railroad. These gentlemen, 
with some other active and enterprising residents of Cairo, have been instrumental in givin'^ 
a new impulse to the business of the place, and in forwarding those improvements, which bid 
fair to make it, at no distant time, one of the first cities of the AVest, 

AYhen we consider what New Orleans has effected in order to overcome the natural disad- 
vantages of soil and situation, we cannot question the ability of Cairo to obviate those minor 
inconveniencies which at one time threatened to interfere with her prosperity. Judging from 
what has been done already, we may safely predict that this place will soon become a flour- 
ishing emporium, and command the immense trade of the West, Northwest, and South. The 
tardy growth of Cairo, in earlier times, has been ascribed in a great measure to the illib- 
eral policy of the English Company which purchased the land some years ago, and attempt- 
ed to establish a monopoly of the whole ground, of which they retained the ownership, and 
making mere tenantry of all the settlers. A better system now prevails; another company, 
of a far more progressive character than the preceding one, has obtained possession of the 
land ; men of energy and pecuniary means have been induced to settle in the place ; improve- 
ments of various kinds have been carried into effect, and still greater ones are in contem 
plation. Two excellent newspapers have been established at Cairo. The population at pre- 
eent is 1000, and is rapidly IncreaBing. 

(147) 



148 Lloyd's steamboat disaster s. 



COLLISION OF THE ATLANTIC AND OGDENSBURG. 

At an earlj hour before daylight, on the 20th day of August, 1852, 
the steamboat Atlantic ran afoul of the propeller Ogdensburg, about 
six miles above Long Point, on Lake Erie. The morning was very 
foggy and the darkness was extreme, and for some time the extent of 
the damage was not apparent, even to those who were on board of the 
vessel which sustained the injury. The propeller struck the Atlantic 
forward of the wheel, on the larboard side ; the shock was so little felt 
on board the steamer, that she continued her course without any appre- 
hension of danger ; and, as the propeller had reversed her engine before 
the collision took place, the crew of it did not suppose that any serious 
mischief had been done to the other. However, before the Atlantic 
had proceeded two miles, it was discovered that she was sinking rapidly. 
The passengers were all in bed at the time, and when they were aroused 
from their slumbers to be informed of their perilous condition, the scene 
of confusion and dismay which followed is beyond all the powers of 
language to describe. The number of persons on board, including 
passengers and crew, is rated at four hundred and fifty. Of these, 
more than two hundred were Norwegian emigrants. As soon as the 
startling intelligence was communicated to the passengers, all were 
assembled on deck, to meet or avoid the fate which threatened them. 
The poor Norwegians, who were generally ignorant of the English lan- 
guage, could scarcely be made to comprehend the cause of the alarm, 
but observing the consternation which prevailed among the other pas- 
sengers, they became wildly excited, and threw themselves into the 
water in spite of every effort to restrain them. The other passengers 
listened to the exhortations of the captain, and became perfectly calm, 
assisting to throw overboard settees, chairs, mattresses, and other 
buoyant articles, which might be the means of supporting them in the 
water when the boat went down. In the meanwhile, the state of affairs 
in the doomed vessel was such as to produce a feeling of intense anxiety. 
even among the bravest. The dense obscurity of the night, the damp 
and chilling atmosphere, the terrific hissing of the water as it rushed 
through the gaping leak upon the furnaces, in which every spark of 
fire was soon extinguished, the shrieks and cries of the affrighted women 
and children who remained on board, and the still more distressing ex- 
clamations of those who were struggling in the water, all these circum- 
stances combined to make a scene of horror which appalled even those 
who could have met their own fate with fortitude and intrepidity. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 149 

About half past two the steamer sunk, notwithstanding all the well- 
directed efforts which had been made by the crew to keep her afloat. 

The propeller had stopped to make repairs after the accident, and 
now when her crew were apprised of the dreadful condition of those 
who had been in the Atlantic, by the cries, shrieks, and lamentations 
of the drowning people, the Ogdensburg promptly steered for the spot, 
and was the means, under divine Providence, of saving about two 
hundred and fifty of the unfortunates who still survived. Hundreds 
were battling with the waters, and while the sympathising crew of the 
propeller were dragging some aboard of that vessel with all possible 
despatch, many others sunk into the abyss of waters, and were seen 
no more. From the most authentic statements it appears that more 
than three hundred lives were lost. A majority of the sufferers Avere 
Norwegian emigrants, of whom previous mention has been made. The 
books of the boat were lost, and no record of the names of those who 
perished has been preserved. The following is a list of the names of 
those passengers who obtained tickets at Erie, but it is uncertain who 
of them were saved and who were lost : 

Mr. Osborne, wife and child, Mr. Reed, Mr. Field, wife and two 
children, of New York ; Mr. Frost, of Boston ; Mr. Calkins, Mr. 
Luke, Mr. Fairbrother, Mr. Bushnell and brother, of Albany, N. Y. ; 
Mr. Lawrence, wife and two children, of Utica ; Mr. Clark and child ; 
Mr. Russell ; Mrs. Cornwall, sister of Elihu Burrett ; Mr. Fisher, of 
Canada ; Mr. Shanker, Mr. Britton, Mr. Stanley, of New York ; Mr. 
Myers ; ^Ir. Carley and wife ; Mr. Bissal, Mr. Brown, Mr. Le Fevrc, 
Mr. Kirby, of Troy ; Mr. Johnson and wife ; Mr. Wliite and wife ; 
Mr. Crippen ; Mr. Green, Mr. Burd, of Schenectady ; Mr. Mont- 
gomery and wife, Cayuga Co., N. Y. 

Second class passengers ticketed at the same office : — Messrs. Ste- 
vens, Hartley and wife, Albany ; Toogood and wife, Troy ; Marshall, 
Boston ; Hall, Graver, Calvin, Turner, "Waits, wife and two children, 
Hammerman, Stuart, Bird and wife, Lucas, and Hayer. 

The persons named below were also on board : 

A. E. Doggett, of Chicago ; Mr. Walbridge, of Eric ; Mr. John W. 
Murphy, express agent. The names of the emigrants are not given. 

Nearly all of the cabin passengers were saved ; also, the oflBcers and 
crew, with the exception of three waiters. Captain Petty, of the At- 
lantic, was seriously injured. The Norwegian emigrants, of whom the 
greater number perished, were on their way to Quebec. About seventy- 
five of these people fortunately could not obtain passage in the Atlan- 
tic, and were left on the wharf. 



150 Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 

Mr. A. Sutton, of New York, who was provided with two life-pre- 
servers, states that while he was fastening one on his wife, a ruflBan 
snatched the other from him. Mr. S. managed, however, to save him- 
self and his two children. 

A young woman who fell overboard was saved by the exertions of a 
young man who jumped in after her, and supported her on the surface 
until she was drawn up into the boat, and at that moment her brave 
deliverer disappeared under the water. He had proved himself an ex- 
cellent swimmer, but most likely some drowning wretch had caught 
hold of him and dragged him down, clutching him with the grasp of 
death, from which there was no means of extrication. 

The dead body of a little girl was found floating on a plank. Dr. 
Crippen, of Michigan, saved two ladies by breaking through the deck 
into the state-room, and drawing them out of the water. Three men 
saved themselves by clinging to the binnacle-box, which had been 
thrown overboard. 

The first mate of the Ogdensburg, who was on watch at the time of 
the collision, afterwards admitted that if he had given the necessary 
orders a few moments sooner than he did, the accident might have been 
prevented. The second mate of the Atlantic, who was also on watch, 
made similar admissions of delinquency. The officers of both boats 
were much censured by the citizens of Buffalo, Erie, &c., as it was 
generally believed that the disaster was attributable to their culpable 
negligence. The surviving passengers of the Atlantic held a meeting, 
and passed resolutions strongly condemning the Captain and owners 
of that steamer for neglecting to provide a sufficient number of life 
preservers, and small boats. The wreck of the Atlantic was found five 
miles below Long Point House. She sunk four miles from the near- 
est shore, in one hundred and sixty feet water. Adams & Co.'s Ex- 
press Messenger lost $60,000, which went down with the ill-fated 
boat. Several attempts have been made by submarine divers to re- 
cover this lost treasure, but without success. By this accident about 
three hundred persons were drowned. The names of many will never 
be known. 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 151 



EXPLOSION OF THE A. N. JOHNSTON. 

This destructive and fatal accident took place on the Ohio river, 
about twelve miles above Majsville, Ky., on "Wednesday, the 29th day 
of December, 1847, at 2 o'clock, A. m. The steamer, at the time of 
the explosion, was in the act of rounding from the shore, having just 
discharged some passengers on the wharf-boat at Manchester. After 
the explosion, she was burned to the water's edge. No circumstantial 
account of the accident is given, except that a great many persons 
were killed and wounded, and their names, as far as they were known 
to the officers of the boat, will be found in the list which is here ap- 
pended. It is to be observed that the gentlemen who made the report 
were not very exact in stating whether many persons named therein 
were killed, wounded, or missing ; but it was understood that when 
not otherwise designated, the persons named in the list were missing : 

Passengers. — Redman, a flat-boat hand, killed ; S. S. Saunders, of 
Cincinnati, badly scalded ; J. Kirkpatrick, Massillon, Ohio, scalded ; 
William Everhavt and son, of Pennsylvania, do. ; D. Rutledge, of Ohio, 
do. ; N. Wheat, Baltimore, Md., do. ; Samuel Fisher, Warren, 0., do. ; 
Samuel Pilson, Baltimore, do. ; Henry Shane, Cincinnati ; Arthur Foal, 
Pittsburgh ; A, N. Johnson, wife and child, Wlieeling, Va. ; G. S. Weath- 

erby, Philadelphia; Conway, Graham's Station ; Cyrus Rollin, 

Lebant Falls ; Jacob Schafer, Ohio, scalded ; A . Bailey, Ohio, badly 
scalded ; Robert Russell, Ohio ; John Clancy and John Hardy, Cincin- 
nati ; John Kenline, of Ohio ; H. J. Bonner, Hanover, Ind. ; C. Hardin, 
Guyandotte, Va. ; John Boyd, Warren, Ohio; William Beard, St. Louis; 
F. Platter, Ohio ; S. Cunningham, Cumberland, Md. ; J. Swagert, 
Belle Air, Ohio ; J. Barnett, Dayton, Ohio ; F. McDonald, Pittsburgh ; 
William Knight, Va. ; John Fowler, Ohio ; William Miller, Cincinnati ; 
M. R. Hayden and James Wickersham, Pittsburgh ; F. A. Home, 
Ohio ; James M. Lissorm, Ohio ; R. Hickson, Cincinnati ; Augustus 
Marsh, slightly scalded; Heni-y Ladd and William Ladd, Randolph, 
Ohio ; John Borum, Clarington, Ohio ; William Parker, Dilley's Bot- 
tom, Ohio ; A. Davis, Captain, 0. McTygart, Mr. McCullough, 

Mr. Lands, and Mr. All, Parkcrsburg, Va. ; James Bromdon and Ed- 
mund Swaggart, Belle Air, Ohio ; John Gilbreath, of Pittsburgh, badly 
scalded ; Hamilton Barebout, John Williams, James Sprouts, and A. 
Bacon, Warren, Ohio ; William Allen, Wheeling, Va. ; Anderson Bo- 
num and Benjamin Bonum, Cincinnati; G. Parker, Pittsburgh; C. 



152 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



"Weaver, Wheeling, Va. ; James Henderson, Belmont Co., Ohio ; E. J. 
Pole and J. R. Deary, Athens Co., Ohio. ; P. Flesher, Doddridge Co., 
Va. ; Jacob Shoewalter, Warren Co., Ohio. 

Boat's Creiv. — A. Fairchild, Wheeling, first clerk, killed ; Jacob 
Johnson, second clerk, missing; James Bellsville, carpenter, missing; 
John Lyle, second engineer, killed ; Matthew Wilson, first mate, of Pa., 
leg broken ; James Fennell, bar-keeper, of Cincinnati, slightly scalded ; 
John Fennell, first steward, do., Alfred Burrows, second steward, do., 
both badly scalded ; William Dorsey, second pilot, of Wheeling, 
Va., badly bruised ; Samuel P. Hardin, first cook, missing; porter and 
barber, both scalded badly ; two men found dead, names unknown. 




EXPLOSION OF THE A. N. JOHNSTON. 

One of the boilers was blown into a corn-field two hundred yards dis- 
tant ; another boiler was blown a hundred yards further into the same field. 
There was supposed to be one hundred and sixty passengers on board, of 
whom from sixty to eighty were killed or missing. Many others were 
wounded. All the ladies on board, six or seven in number, and four or five 
children, were saved. The steamer Boone went from INIaysville to the 
scene of the disaster, and brought away thirty-seven of the dead and 
wounded. Some others were taken to Cincinnati. Many were so 
badly wounded that there were no hopes of their recovery. The death 
of the first clerk was attended by singular circumstances. He was 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 153 

Dlown to the distance of one hundred yards, and fell on the shore ; ho 
then sprang up, and ran in a phrenzicd manner nearly a quarter of a 
mile to a house, which ho entered, and ran under a bed. When taken 
from thence life vras almost extinct, and he expired within a few minutes. 

The engineer, just before he died, stated that he had tried the boil- 
ers a short time before the explosion, and found a sufficiency of water ; 
but one of the clerks reports that he heard the engineer complain 
several times after they left Cincinnati that the pumps did not work 
well. 

The City Council of Maysville assembled on the afternoon of the 
fatal day, and made an appropriation for the relief of the sufferers. 



COLLISION OF THE BOONSLICK AND MISSOURI BELLE. 

The steamboat Missouri Belle left New Orleans, October 24th, 1834, 
bound to St. Louis, and when she had proceeded about fifteen miles up 
the river, she came in contact with the steamer Boonslick, which was 
coming in an opposite direction. The Boonslick sustained but little 
injury, but the Missouri Belle was so badly broken up that she sunk 
almost instantly. The Boonslick rounded to and steered for the 
wrecked vessel, nothing of which remained above water, except a piece 
of the hurricane deck, on which most of the passengers had taken refuge. 
A rope Avas thrown out by the crew of the Boonslick. and attached to 
the floating piece of the wreck, and some of the passengers were thus 
enabled to reach the deck of the Boonslick, while the yawls were en- 
gaged in picking up those persons who had been thrown into the water. 
There were about one hundred and thirty persons on board the Mis- 
souri Belle at the time she sunk ; thirty of these were drowned, though 
every possible effort was made by the captain and crew of the Boon- 
slick to save them. 

List of Lost. — Dr. Brant, Mo. ; A. C. Smithers, New Orleans ; 
Miss C. Frazier, St. Louis ; W. AValters, New York ; P. Matlock, New 
Jersey ; Mrs. De Soto, Havana ; Miss Mary Trimble, Miss. ; John 
Budd, Boston ; A. During, 111. ; two infants, names not known ; 
Ebenezer Dumbolt, Germany ; wife and child of Mr. C. Glass, "Wis. ; 
three negro firemen, and seven Germans, who were from Heidelberg. 
This is the complete list of those drowned by this accident 




(154) 



SKETCH OF NASHVILLE. 



Nashvtlle is arery handsome city, tho largest in Tennessee, and the commercial metropoliw 
of that State. It is situated in Davidson County, on the southern bank of Cumberland river, 
two hundred miles from its mouth; two hundred and thirty miles E. N. E. of Memphis, two 
hundred and six miles S. W. of Lexington, Ky., and six hundred and ninety miles from Wash- 
ington, D. C. ; lat. 36° 9' N., long. 86° 49' W. The whole city is built on a solid rock, covered 
in some places with a thin soil. The site of Nashville is on a " bluflT' eighty feet in height, 
and four hundred and sixty feet above the level of the sea. This city is tho centre of an ex. 
tensive trade, the river being navigable for the largest boats up to this point; several excellent 
turnpUies extend to various localities in the interior of the State, and tho Nashville and Chat- 
tanooga railroad, one hundred and fifty miles in length, exclusive of its branches, here has 
its terminus. The branches of this railroad, which was finished in tho year 1852, extend from 
various points on the road, to Shelbyville, McMinnville, Coal Mines, and North Memphis. 
The Nashville and Chattanooga railroad at Stevenson, Ala., connects with the Charleston Eail- 
road which extends from the point of connection, one hundred and thirty miles, to Tuscumbia, 
Ala., passing through Iluntsvillo and Decatur. The Nashville and Chattanooga railroad crosses 
the Tennessee river at Bridgeport, Ala. At Chattanooga it connects with the Georgia and 
South Carolina system of railroads. The first branch, south, connects with Rome, at tho 
head of navigation on Coosa river; tho second branch extends to Montgomery, Ala. ; tha 
third, to Columbus, Ga., on the Chattanooga river ; the fourth branch extends from Macoa 
to Americus, Ga. ; the fifth branch connects with Eatonton, Milledgeville, Savannah, Augusta, 
Athens, and Washington, Ga., and with all the prominent points to Charleston, S. C. Tho 
Nashville and Chattanooga railroad also communicates by the East Tennessee and Georgia 
railroad, with Knoxville ; and by the East Tennessee and Virginia railroad, with Lynchburg, 
Abington, &c. The Nashville and Chattanooga railroad is constructed in the most substantial 
and durable manner, and is doing a large and profitable business. In a few years tho Louisvillo 
and Nashville railroad will be completed, and then the city of Nashville will have the terminus 
of one of the most extensive and important railroads in tho world. The cost of this road has 
been $.3,000,000. The president of tho Nashville and Chattanooga railroad is Col. V. K. Ste- 
venson, James H. Grant is resident engineer. This railroad is of incalculable value to the 
commerce and prosperity of Nashville. 

Tho steamboat trade of Nashville is very extensive. Many first class steamers have been 
built at this place, and are owned by persons residing there. The shipping of tho port in tho 
year 185-4 amounted to 6,440 tons, and as the business of steamboat building is carried on ex- 
tensively by enterprising citizens of the place, there is a great annual increase of tonnage. 

The city of Nashville is well laid out. The streets aro commodious and well paved. Some 
of the public buildings are magnificent, and the private dwellings will compare favorably with 
those of any other city in the United States. Tho new State House, which stands on an emi- 
ncnoo one hundred and seventy-five feet above the level of the river, is one of the most ele- 
gant and costly structures in America. The material is a fine limestone, quarried on the spot, 
and bears a strong resemblance to marble. The cost of this building was $1,000,000. Tho 
Unirersity of Nashville was founded in 1806. Tho Medical College was opened in IS51. la 
1855 it had two hundred students. There are various other literary and scientific institutions, 
besides a great number of private seminaries for males and females. Nashville has fourteea 

(155) 



156 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

newspaper offices, four banks, with a capital of $6,000,000, and eighteen churches. The 
Mineral Cabinet of the late Dr. Troorst contains the largest collection in the United States. 

Cumberland river at Nashville is crossed by a magnificent wire suspension bridge, similar 
to the bridge over the Ohio at Wheeling, Va. The city is lighted with gas, and supplied 
with water raised from the Cumberland river by machinery. Nashville has expended im- 
mense sums of money on her macadamized turnpikes, which radiate in different directions to 
the inland districts. The country, for several miles around Nashville, is fertile and salubri- 
ous. This city is distinguished for its enterprising spirit, literary taste, and polished society. 
The population in 1S45 was 12,000; in 1853, 20,000; and in 1856, 25,000. 



EXPLOSION OF THE TUSCALOOSA. 

The steamer Tuscaloosa left the wharf at Mobile, Ala., about 8 o'clock on Thursday even- 
ing, January 29th, 1847, on her way to Tuscaloosa city, the capital of Alabama; and when she 
had proceeded ten miles up the river two of her boilers bursted, by which accident a number 
of her passengers and crew were killed and wounded. The explosion completely tore up the 
boiler-deck, and shattered the after-part of the boat below deck considerably. Immediately 
after the explosion, the steamer drifted near the shore and grounded, her stern projecting to- 
wards the centre of the river. A line was made fast on shore, and an attempt was made, by 
pulling in the stern, to effect a landing for the passengers, but the boat was fixed too firmly 
in the bed of the river to be moved in this manner. The ladies were then lowered by a rope 
to the lower deck, and from thence were sent ashore in the yawl. All of them escaped unhurt. 

Those of the male passengers who were uninjured saved themselves, and many of the 
wounded likewise, by constructing a raft of loose planks, on which they reached the shore in 
safety ; but when they arrived at the banks they found it impossible to obtain a dry footing, 
as the river had overflowed its customary bounds to the depth of several inches, which, as 
the weather was exceedingly cold, made the landing (if it might be called so) very uncomfort- 
able. In this state of things the male passengers climbed trees, where they remained spec- 
tators of the burning wreck for about three hours, when the steamer James Hewitt hove in 
sight, and on coming near the wreck, sent her yawl to the assistance of the survivors, who 
were all taken on board and conveyed back to Mobile. The dead body of Lieut. Inge, one 
of the passengers of the Tuscaloosa, was also taken up by the James Hewitt. 

List op Killed — AVm. Tanneyhill, C. Childs, and P. F. Beasley, of Eutaw; W. R. Ilas- 
sell, of Greenborough; B. Partier, second clerk; Thomas Clark, first mate; Arthur McCoy, 
second engineer; Abraham Flynn, volunteer for the U. S. Army in Mexico, from Green Co., 
Ala., and several colored deck hands. 

Badly Wounded — Capt. E. P. Oliver, not expected to recover; George Kirk, first clerk, 
and acting Captain of the Tuscaloosa; Col. Wm. Armistead, and Capt. Asa White, of Eutaw. 
The last named gentleman was very badly scalded. 



ACCIDENT ON THE ELIZABETH. 

The boilers of the steamer Elizabeth collapsed on the 4th day of April, 1845, on the Missis- 
sippi river, at the entrance of the Courtanbleau. All the wood-work above the boilers was 
swept away. None of the passengers were hurt, but several of the boat's crew were killed, 
and others were wounded. 

Killed. — Daniel York, the mate; John Rhodes, deck hand; Wilson Hill, second engineer; 
and a fireman, colored. 

Wounded. — J. H. Gordon, the captain, mortally; Freeman B. Lamb, pilot, leg fractured ; 
James Marqnite, first engineer, badly scalded ; and a negro fireman. 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 157 

EXPLOSION OF THE CHAMOIS. 

The steamer Chamois, Capt. Morton, exploded near Chattahochee, 
Fa., at the fork of that river, on Thursday, November 3d, 1842. She 
was aground, and the crew were endeavoring to get her off, when the 
accident took place. Three of the crew were killed, and several others 
more or less injured. The names of the persons killed were Leander 
Tale, first engineer, "William Cannafax, steward, and Joseph Lloyd, deck- 
hand. 

Mr. Cannafax had recently been married, and for years had been 
the only stay and support of his aged parents. lie was a young man 
of great probity and worth, and his untimely death occasioned a feel- 
ing of deep regret among all who had known him. 



EXPLOSION OF THE MARQUITTE. 

Between four and five o'clock, in the afternoon of July 1st, 1845, 
the steamer Marquitte, Capt. Turpin, was about leaving the wharf at 
New Orleans. Her last bell had rung, and the hands had begun to cast 
off the moorings, when it was ascertained that the cook was on shore. 
The boat waited for him about fifteen minutes, during which time no 
steam was blown off, or passed through the cylinders. The cook having 
arrived, the steamer began to back out from the wharf, and when the 
paddle-wheels had made three or four revolutions, all the boilers ex- 
ploded simultaneously, producing a sound which was heard in the most 
distant parts of the city. The pilot, Mr. Frederick Ostrander, who was 
at the wheel, was blown to a considerable distance, and fell on the hur- 
ricane deck of the steamer Yazoo City. One of his thighs was dislo- 
cated and his hip broken by the fall. It is mentioned as a remarkable 
circumstance, that Mr. Ostrander's hat was blown in an opposite direc- 
tion, and fell on another boat. The pilot house which this gentleman 
had occupied, after ascending to a great height, came down on the fore- 
castle of the steamer James Pitcher, occasioning some damage to that 
vessel. The wheel, (or a part of the steering apparatus,) which Mr. Os- 
trander held at the time of the explosion, appears to have been anni- 
Julatecl, as not the smallest fragment of it could be found afterwards. 
Mr. Powell, the second pilot, who was sitting on the boiler-deck, read- 
ing a newspaper, was never seen after the explosion. The cook was 
cut in two by a piece of the boiler ; one part of his body was blown for- 
"ward near the jack-staff, and the other part remained near the 
machinery. Capt. Turpin himself received an injury in the thigh, but 
"was still active in affording his assistance to the other sufferers. Capt. 



158 Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 

B. M. Martin, of the Belle Poule, was wounded bj a piece of the boiler, 
and died a few hours after. At least forty-five others were killed, and 
comparatively few of their names, (as usual in such cases,) are on record. 
The universal excitement and consternation which prevail on board of tho 
vessel where an explosion takes place, renders an accurate statement of 
particulars almost impossible. After the explosion, the boat drifted a 
short distance down the stream and sunk. All the cargo was lost. 

The ladies and children in the cabin escaped injury, except a small 
girl, who was badly scalded. One dead body was taken from the wreck ; 
it was that of a man who had his legs literally blown away, and was 
otherwise mangled. Three others died in a short time. Two of the 
dead bodies remained all night in the watch-house yard, exposed until 
eleven o'clock next day, in order to be recognized by their friends, if 
possible. The officers of the boat were Robert Smith, first mate, slightly 
scalded ; J. F. Lee, clerk, bruised ; John Orrick, bar-keeper, badly hurt ; 
Samuel Hays, first engineer, scalded ; John Hazzard, second engineer, 
killed ; Hannibal, a slave of the captains, killed ; Theodore Ostrander, 
pilot, severely hurt ; Mr. Powell, second pilot, lost ; George W. Wood- 
hull, clerk of the steamer Belle Poule, killed ; Luther Hathaway, mate 
of the same boat, badly injured ; John Milton, New Albany, Lid., killed ; 
Mr. Martin, Tenn., badly scalded ; Mrs. Decker and child, killed. 

Killed. — Z. Vanstover, Hermann, Mo.; Mrs. Lecrist, Louisville; 
0. Dougbty, P. Fishback and N. Drake, Cincinnati, Ohio ; B. William- 
son, St. Louis ; D. B. Short, South Carolina ; Miss Tree, England ; 
three firemen, names unknown ; Dunn O'Flaretyand Patrick Murphy, 
belonging to the boat ; M. IMusic, New York ; Andrew Dearborn, New 
Castle, Ind. ; Dennis Cochran and Samuel Felt, Maine ; Thomas Far- 

rell, Rhode Island; Simpson, Texas ; W. E. Wilbur, New Orleans; 

A. Spotts, Ala. ; F. Hogart, Evansville, Ind. ; Franklin, Tenn. ; 

Hilburn Carter and D. Epsome, Canada ; besides several others whose 
bodies were not recognized after being taken from the water. 

Cabin Passengers Saved. — Miss McCord and child. Miss Lydia Page, 
Miss Sarah Smith and Mrs. Harriet Cook, all of Mobile ; and Miss 
Elmira Lacy, Cincinnati, Ohio. 



EXPLOSION OF THE KNOXVILLE. 

On the 17th day of December, 1850, the steamboat Knoxville ex- 
ploded at New Orleans, just as she was leaving the wharf at the foot 
of Gravier Street. The flues of both boilers collapsed, tearing all the 
upper works forward of the wheel-house to pieces. One of the boilera 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



159 



^vas projected through the guards of the steamer Martha Washington, 
which was lying at the same wharf, passing entirely through the cabin of 
that vessel and entering the ladies' cabin of the Griffin Greatnian. Another 
boiler was carried by the force of the explosion one hundred and fifty 
yards across the levee, knocking down two large piles of flour barrels ; 
but, happily, no person was injured in its transit, although it passed over 
the heads of a crowd of people standing on the wharf. An iron chest 
was blown high in the air, and fell on the steamboat Buck-eye, lying at 
a considerable distance below. The steamboat Ne-Plus-Ultra, which 
lay near the Knoxville, was much shattered ; and the commander, 
Capt. Robinson, was badly scalded. The Knoxville took fire, but by 
the prompt assistance of the firemen of New Orleans the flames were 
extinguished. There were eighteen passengers on the boat at the time 







m 











EXPLOSION OF TUE KNOXVILLE, 



of the accident, a majority of whom were killed or missing. The 
Martha Washington, which lay nearly in contact with the Knoxville, 
was much damaged, all her upper works being swept away. We sub- 
join a list of the killed and wounded among the boat's crew; the names 
of those passengers who suffered were never ascertained, but their num- 
ber is estimated to be not less than sixteen. 

Killed, — William Dowdy, second engineer ; the bar-keeper and 
third engineer, names not mentioned, and sixteen passengers. 

Wounded. — Capt. Irvin ; Abraham Young and Henry Turner, 
cooks ; B. n. Franklin and William Henry, pilots ; Patrick Conelly, 
J. Collins, John Burke, Peter IMillen, John Burns and Patrick Cannon, 
firemen; George Stackhouse ; George Oldham; James Johnston, first 
engineer ; William Bowen, clerk ; and the bar-keeper of the Martha 
AVashinjjt :>n. 




(160) 



SKETCH OF THE MISSISSIPPI EIYER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



The Mississippi is the most important river in North America, and with the Missouri, its 
principal affluent, the longest in the world. It rises on the Hauteurs de Terre, the dividing 
ridgo between the Red River of the north, and the streams flowing into the (lulf of Mexico, 
three thousand one hundred and sixty miles from the Gulf, and sixteen hundred and eighty 
foet above the level of the ocean, lat. 47° N., long. 95° 54' W. A small pool, fed by the 
neighboring hills, discharges a little rivulet, scarcely a span in breadth, meandering over sand 
and pebbles ; and blending here and there with a kindred streamlet, it ripples on, forming a 
number of basins, until it subsides at last into Itasca Lake. From this issues a secoiid stream, 
giving promise of the strength of its maturity, first flowing northward through several small 
lakes, and then in various directions, forming Cass Lake, Lake AVinnipeg, and a number of 
other bodies of water. It afterwards assumes a southerly course, receives mighty rivers as 
tributaries, and having rolled its vast volume through more than eighteen degrees of latitude, 
enters the Gulf of Mexico by several mouths, lat. 29° N., long. 89° 25' W. Though above 
the junction not so large as the Missouri which flows into it from the north-west, twelve hun- 
dred and fifty three miles from the Gulf, yet having been first explored, it received the name 
" Mississippi," which it has since retained throughout its entire course. 

If we regard the Missouri as a continuation of the Mississippi above the junction, the entire 
length will amount to about four thousand three hundred and fifty miles. Above the conflu- 
ence of the two rivers, the waters of the Mississippi are remarkably clear; but after com- 
mingling with those of the Missouri, they become exceedingly turbid, and contain about four 
tenths of sedementary matter. The Missouri river, (" the Mud river,") which is the longest 
tributary stream in the world, has its source in the Rocky mountains, lat. 45° N., long. 110° 
30' W. The springs which give rise to this turbulent river, are not more than a mile from the 
head waters of the Columbia, which flows westerly to the Pacific ocean. At a distance of four 
hundred and eleven miles from the source of the Missouri, are what are denominated the 
•' Gates of the Rocky mountains." For a distance of nearly six miles, the rocks here rise per- 
pendicularly from the water's edge to a height of one thousand two hundred feet. The river 
bere is about one hundred and fifty yards wide, and for the first three miles there is only one 
spot, and that of but a few yards in extent, on which a man could stand between the water 
and the perpendicular walls. At a distance of one hundred and ten miles bolow this, and two 
thousand five hundred and seventy-five miles above the mouth of the Missouri are the " Great 
Falls." Here the river descends by a succession of falls and rapids, three hundred and fifty- 
nine feet in sixteen and a half miles. The perpendicular falls are, the first, twenty-six feet, the 
second, forty-seven feet, the third, twenty feet, and the fourth, eighty-nine feet. Between and 
below these are continual rapids of from three to eighteen feet descent, forming the grandest 
riew perhaps in the world, surpassing in beauty of scenery and magnitude the falls of Niagara. 

The bed of the Missouri commences at the confluence of three small streams, about equal in 
length, and running nearly parallel to each other, called Jeflferson's Madison's, and Gallatin'8 
forks. The Yellow Stone river, which is eight hundred yards wide at its mouth, is the longest tri- 
butary of the Missouri, and enters it from the southwest, twelve hundred and sixteen miles from 
its navigable source. The two rivers at their junction are about equal in size. Steamboats 
ascend to this point, and can ascend farther, both by the main stream and it^i aflluent. Chi- 
enne rirer, which is four hundred yards wide at its mouth, enters the Missouri from the south- 
11 (161) 



162 SKETCH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 

west, thirteen hundred and ten miles from its mouth. White river, which ia three hundred 
yards wide at its mouth, enters the Missouri from the southwest, eleven hundred and thirty 
miles from its mouth. The Big Sioux river is one hundred and ten yards wide, and enters 
the Missouri from the northeast, eight hundred and fifty-four miles from its mouth. Platte 
river is six hundred yards wide, and enters the Missouri from the southwest, six hundred 
miles from its mouth. Kansas river is two hundred and thirty-four yards wide, and enters 
the Missouri from the southwest, three hundred and forty-four miles from its mouth. Grand 
River is one hundred and eighty-nine yards wide, and joins it from the north, two hundred and 
forty miles from its mouth; and Osage river, which is three hundred and ninety-eight yards 
wide, flows into the Missouri from the southwest, one hundred and thirty-three miles from its 
junction with the main stream. The Missouri river is three thousand and ninety-six miles 
long to its confluence with the Mississippi; add to this twelve hundred and fifty-three miles, 
the distance its waters must flow to reach the Gulf of Mexico, and the entire length, is four 
thousand three hundred and forty-nine miles. Through the greater part of its course, the 
Missouri is a rapid, turbid, and very dangerous stream to navigate. No serious obstacle, 
bo^vever, is presented to navigation from its mouth to the great falls, a distance of two thou- 
sand five hundred and seventy-five miles, excepting, perhaps, its shallowness during the sea- 
son of the greatest drought, and the innumerable snags which are firmly imbedded in the 
river, by which boats sometimes meet with the greatest difficulty in ascending or descending 
it. The flood from this river does not reach the Mississippi river, till the rise in the Red, the 
Arkansas, and the Ohio rivers has nearly subsided. Vast prairies, with narrow strips of allu- 
vium skirting the streams, compose the Missouri basin, excepting the upper portion of the river, 
which flows through an arid and sterile region. The entire extent of area drained by this 
river and its tributaries, is estimated at six hundred thousand square miles. The first five hun- 
dred miles of its course to the great falls is nearly north, then inflecting E, N. E., it reaches 
its extreme northern bend, at the junction of White Earth river, lat. 48° 20' N. After this its 
general course is southeast till it empties into the Mississippi river, eighteen miles above St. 
Louis, and twelve hundred and eighteen miles above New Orleans, lat. 38° 60' N., long. 90" 
10' AV. The other principal tributaries of the Mississippi river from the northwest and west, 
are the St Peters, or Minnesota, which empties into it two thousand one hundred and ninety- 
two miles from its mouth, and the Des Moines, White. Red, and Arkansas rivers. Those 
emptying into it from the northeast and east, are the Wisconsin, which enters it nineteen hui^ 
dred and thirty-four miles from its mouth; the Illinois river flows into it five hundred and 
sis miles below, and the Ohio joins it, one thousand and fifty-three miles from the 
Gulf of Mexico. * The Arkansas river, next to the Missouri, is the largest aSluent of the Mis- 
sissippi; it rises in the Rocky Mountains near the boundary between Utah and the Indian 
Territory, and pursues an easterly course several hundred miles. Near the ninety-eighth de- 
gree of west longitude, it turns and flows south-eastward, to Fort Smith, on the western boun- 
dary of Arkansas; continuing in the same general direction, it traverses that state, dividing it 
into two nearly equal portions, and empties itself into the Mississippi at Helena, four hundred 
miles below the mouth of the Ohio, and six hundred miles above Now Orleans, in lat. 33° 54' 
N., long. 91° 10' W, Its whole length exceeds two thousand miles. The current is not ob- 
structed by falls or rapids, and is navigable by steamboats, during about nine months of the 
year, for a distance of eight hundred miles from its mouth. The din'erence between high and 
low water in this river is about twenty-eight feet; it is from throe-eighths to half a mile wide 
throughout the last six hundred miles of its course. White River is the next largest tribut;iry 
of the Mississippi; it is formed by three small branches which rise among the Ozark Moun- 
tains, and unite a few miles east of Faj'etteville, Arkansas ; it flows first north-easterly into 
Missouri, and after making a circuit of one hundred and ten miles, returns into Arkansas, and 
pursues a south-ciisterly course to the mouth of Black River, which is its largest alfluent from this 
point; its direction is nearly southward until it enters the Mississippi, fifteen miles above the 
mouth of the Arkansas. The whole length of White river exceeds eight hundred miles, and is 
navigable by steamboats, in all stages of water, to the mouth of Black river, three hundred 
and fifty miles above its mouth ; and during a largo portion of the year they can run to Bates- 



SKETCH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVEK. 1G3 

ville, about fifty miles higher. In very high water, boats have gone several huntlroJ miles 
further up into Missouri. The navigation is not obstrueted by ice in the winter. Below 
Batcsville the channel is about four feet deep liiroughout the year, and is one of tlie most de- 
lightful and placid streams in the world. 

Red River is the southernmost of the great tributaries of the Missis.«ippi. It rises in two 
branches, called the North and South Forks, whieli unite near lat. 3-t° ?>0' N., and long. 100° 
V,'. The principal or southern branch has its source in lat. 34° 42' N., long. 10.3° 7' 10" W., 
in New Mexico, just beyond the west boundary of Texas ; and the North fork in lat. .35° 35' 
S" N., long. 101° 5o' W., within a degree of the north boundary of Texa.«. After the junction 
of the two forks, the stream varies but little from a due ea.«t course till it reaches Fulton, in 
Arkansas, where it turns to the south, and pursues that direction, with a slight inclination to 
the east, till near Natchitoches, from whence it runs a little south of cast. The main or southern 
branch has its sources in deep and narrow fissures in the north-east part of the Llano Estacado, 
an elevated and barren plain, at an altitude of two thousand four hundred and sixty-one feet 
above the level of the sea. For the first sixty miles the escarpments rise from five hundred 
to eight hundred feet, so directly from the water's edge, that, in many instance.", a skiff must 
take the channel of the stream to proceed. After leaving the Llano Estacado the river flows 
through an arid prairie country, almost entirely destitute of trees, over abroad bed of light shift- 
ing sands, for a distance of five hundred miles, following its sinuositcs. It then enters a country 
covered with gigantic forest trees, grown upon a soil of the most pre-eminent fertility. Here 
the borders contract, and the water, for a considerable portion of the year, washes both banks, 
carrying the loose alluvium from one .'•ide and depositing it on the other, in such a manner as 
to produce constant changes in the channel, and to render navigation difficult. This character 
continues throughout the remainder of its course to the Delta of the Mississippi ; and in this 
section it is subject to heavy inundations, whi'h often flood the bottoms to such a degree as to 
destro}' the crops, and occa.'ionally, on subsiding, leaving a deposit of white sand, and rendering 
the soil barren and worthless. The entire length of Red River, including the South Fork, is 
estimated at two thousand one hun<lred miles, the main stream being about one thousand two 
hundrc(J miles long. During eight months of the year steamboats regularly navigate it from New 
Orleans to Shreveport, a distance of about seven hundred and fifty miles, and the navigation 
is good in all stages of water to Alexandria. The most serious obstacle to the navigation of 
the upper part of Red river is the "great raft," which consists of an immense mass of drift 
wood and trees, which have been brought down several hundred miles by the current, and 
lodged here, obstructing the channel for a distance of seventy-five miles, and inundating th-o 
adjacent country. In 1834, '35 it was removed by Capt. Henr}' M. Shrevo (who was employed 
by the general government) at an expense of three hundred thousand dollars ; but being left 
many years without snag-boats to keep it clear, another and more serious raft has been formed, 
the lower part of which is now about thirty miles above Shreveport, and is continually growing, 
80 that in a few years more this important stream will be rendered entirelj' unnavigable, unless 
the general government has it removed. During high water small steamers pass round tho 
raft by means of the lateral channels or lakes which are then formed. Red River empties into 
the Mississippi two hundred and sixty-eight miles above New Orlcan.s, in lat. 31° N., and 
long. 91° 50' W. 

The Yazoo river is another prominent tributary to the Mississippi. It is formed by tho 
Tallahatchee and Yallabusha rivers, which unite at Leflore, in Carroll County, Mississippi. 
It then pursues a very serpentine course, tho general direction of which is South by West. 
The length of the main stream is about two hundred and ninety miles. It is a deep, narrow, 
and sluggish stream, traversing an alluvial plain of extreme fertility, which is mostly occu- 
pied by plantations of cotton. It is probably not surpassed in navigable qualities by any river 
in tho world of equal size. Steamboats ascend it from its mouth to its origin in all stages of 
water, and at all seasons of the year. Tho Tallahatchee, the largest branch, is perhaps ns long 
as the Yazoo itself, and is navigable by stonmboats more than one hundred miles. Tho Yazoo 
empties into the Mississippi twelve miles above Vicksburg. 

Tho descent of the Mississippi from its source to its embouchure averages over six inchei 




aw) 



SKETCU OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 165 

to the mile. The elevation of the various points are at its extreme source sixteen hundred 
and eighty feet. Itasca lake, fifteen hundred and seventy-five feet; falls of St. Anthony, 
eight hundred and fifty-six feet ; Prairie Du Chien, six liundred and forty-two feet ; St. Louis, 
three hundred and eighty-two feet; mouth of the Ohio, three liundred and twenty-four feet; 
Natchez, eighty-six feet; entrance of the Red river, 6evcnt3'-six fiot, and opposite New Or- 
leans, ten and a-half feet. The only falls of any considerable noto in this river are those of 
6u Anthonj', which have a petpendicular fall of eighteen feet, with rapids above and below, 
making in all about sixty-eight feet descent in three quarters of a mile. The scenery here is 
grand and picturesque, especially at the time of the spring floods. The rapids of Pecagama 
are six hundred and eighty-five miles above the falls of St. Anthony. The river there is com- 
pressed to a width of eighty feet, and precipitated over a rugged bed of sandstone at an angle 
of 40°, The entire descent at this point is about twenty feet in three hundred yards. Below the 
falls of St. Anthony the river is navigable for steamboats. A considerable obstruction, how- 
ever, is offered when the water is low, by the rapids, about nine miles in extent, a short 
distance above the entrance of the Des Moines river, near Keokuk, and the upper rapid?, 
'which commence btlow Mu;:catine, Iowa. These rapids are a serious obstacle to the naviga- 
tion of the Upper Mississippi, and it is to be hoped that the general government will improve 
them at once. The average depth of the Mississippi below the mouth of the Ohio, varies from 
ninety to one hundred and twenty feet, and the breadth from six hundred to twelve hundred 
yards. Opposite New Orleans the river is one third of a mile wide, and one hundred fee-t 
deep. The mean velocity of the current at this place is about two feet per second, or thirty- 
three miles per day. Between the Gulf and the entrance of the Missouri river, it is from 
sixty to seventy miles per day. Above the mouth of the Missouri the current is less rapid. 
A peculiarity of the Lower Mississippi is its extremely winding course. Sometimes a bend of 
thirty miles will occur, where the distance across the neck does not exceed a mile. This cir- 
cumstance, no doubt, tends to check the current, and facilitate navigation. One of the import- 
ant facts in relation to this great river, is that it flows from North to South. A river that 
runs East or West has no variety of climate or productions from its source to its mouth. The 
course of this stream being from North to South, spring advances in a reverse direction, and 
releases in succession the waters of the lower valley, then of the middle section, and finally 
the remote sources of the Mississippi and its tributaries. It is a remarkable fact that the 
waters from this last named region do not reach the Delta until upwards of a month after the 
inundation there has been abating. The swell usually commences towards the end of Feb- 
ruary, and continues to rise by unequal diurnal accretions till the first of June, when the 
waters again begin to subside. 

No experience will enable a person to anticipate, with any degree of certainty, the elevation 
of the flood in any given year. In some seasons, the waters do not rise above their channels ; 
in others, the entire lower valley of the ^Mississippi is submerged. Embankuu.'nts called levees 
have been raised from five to ten feet high, on both sides of the stream, extending many miles 
above and below New Orleans. By this means the river is restrained within its proper limits, 
except at the greatest freshets, when the waters sometimes break over everything, causing 
great destruction to property, and sometimes loss of life. The average height of the flood from 
the Delta to the junction of the Missouri is above sixteen feet. At the mouth of the latter 
river it is twenty-five feet. Below the entrance of the Ohio river the rise is often fifty-five feet. 
At Natchez, it seldom exceeds thirty feet; and at New Orleans, about twelve feet. What goes 
with the water? It is known that the difference between high and low water mark, as high up 
as White river, is about thirty-six feet, and the current at high watermark runs near seven miles 
per hour, and opposite to New Orleans the difference between high and low water mark is only 
twelve feet, and the current little over three miles to the hour. The width and depth of the 
river being the same, from which we calculate that near six times as tnuch water passes by the 
mouth of White river as by New Orleans. What goes with the excess ? The only solution 
we can offer is, that it escapes by the bayous "Plaquemine," "Lafourche" and " Iberville," 
but when we calculate the width, depth and current of these bayous, they fall vastly short of 
affording a suflicient escapement. The true explanation can, we think, be given. At low water, 



166 SKETCn OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 

throughout the whole extent we see a land structure exposed, underlying the bank, or that the 
alluYial structure on which the plantations are, is a structure of deposit made by the river abovo 
its low water mark, which, opposite to the mouth of White river, is thirty foet thick. As you 
descend, the river diminishes in volume as the difference between high and low water mark 
diminishes and nearly corresponds to it, and wherever the bottom is exposed it shows through- 
out the whole i?:stent that the bottom is pure coarse sand ; exhibiting at many places the ocean 
shingle, through the superimposed alluvial structure mixed with fine sand. The water perco- 
lates with such facility and rapidity that the water in a well dug at a considerable distance 
from the river bank rises and falls with the tiso and fall of the river, not varying an inch, and 
through the coarse sand and shingles of the bottom, it passes as rapidly as through a common 
sieve. 

By the accurate surveys of several scientific engineers, it is ascertained that the fall of the 
Mississippi river is four inches to the mile. The distance from Natchez to New Orleans of 
three hundred miles will give twelve hundred inches, or one hundred feet. The depth of the 
river is less than fifty feet at high-water mark. The river debouches into the ocean from a pro- 
montory made by itself. The surface of the ocean, by measurement, below the bottom of 
the river, abovo New Orleans, corresponds with the low-water mark below New Orleans, 
therefore the Mississippi river is pouring through its own bottom into the ocean, the super- 
imposed weight giving lateral pressure to hurry the subterranean current. If the reader has 
ever stood upon a Mississippi sand-bar in a hard rain, or seen water poured from a bucket on 
the sand-bar, he has seen that neither can be done in suiBcient quantity to produce any cur- 
rent or accumulation on the surface. The river is, therefore, from the time it comes below 
the lime-stone stratas of Missouri and Kentucky, wasting itself through its own bottom. If 
the Mississippi river had to pursue its course, like the Ohio, over rocky strata, walled in by 
rock and impervious clap banks, the high-water mark at New Orleans would reach one hun- 
dred feet above its present limit ; but running over coarse sand, walled in by a deposit made 
of sand, ancient duluvial detritus, and vegetable mound, no more water reaches the ooeau 
than the excess over the ■amount that permeates the surrounding structure and passes off in 
the process of percolation or transperation in a subterranean descent to the ocean. The river, 
without any restraint from rock or clay in the bottom or bank, is left free to the government 
of no other law than the law of hydrostatics. The washing, or wasting of the banks, cannot 
be prevented, though the caving or sliding of large portions at one time maybe easily guarded 
against. 

The Arkansas river, west of that state, receives several large tributaries, and is itself above 
their junction as large as the congregated rivers after their junction within the state. Within 
that state it has no more tributary before reaching the Mississippi river, which has within the 
said district, as a consequence, a rise of fifteen or twenty feet. Sometimes it enters the stem 
of the main river without producing any rise at its mouth, unless the supply is maintained 
for a considerable time ; thus the far-famed Niger of Africa, whose mouth has never been 
found, may be lost and wasted in the great sand plains of the Desert of Sahara, and its sub- 
terranean flood may again be collected on the surface of a subterranean stratum of rock, and 
projected on the surface of the earth, sustaining the opinion of Pliny, that the Niger 
is a western and main tributary of the Nile. The flood of the Mississippi river often carries 
awaj' large masses of earth, with trees, which frequently become imbedded in the mud at one 
eiid, while the other floats near the surface, forming snags and sawyers. So changeable are the 
channels of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, that to be a competent pilot, it is necessary 
to make trips every few weeks on these rivers, otherwise sight is lost of the channel, so .sud- 
denly does it change from one side of the river to the other. Eight hundred and sixteen 
steamboats are employed on the Mississippi river and its tributaries, the total tonnage of 
which amounts to 320,44.8 tons, besides twenty-three hundred flat boats and barges which 
are in constant operation. The total value of the steamboats annually afloat on the western 
rivers, is estimated at nearly $20,000,000, and the commerce nt $200,000,000. The area of 
country drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries, is over 2,000,000 square miles. This 
vast region, from its almost unexampled fertility, has obtained the title of the ''Garden of 
the World." 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 167 



EXPLOSION OF THE AUGUSTA. 

The Augusta left Natchez, December 3d, 1838, for Vicksburg, with 
the ship Jeannctte in tow. On the voyage the ship got aground, when 
the Augusta separated from her, and proceeded to a wood-pile, where 
she took in some fuel, and was making her way to another pile, when 
the pilot, seeing some floating timber ahead, rang the bell as a signal 
for the engine to be stopped. The machinery was accordingly stopped 
until the iloat had passed, when the bell was again rung as a signal for 
the engine to be put in motion. The engineer discovered, at this mo- 
ment, that the engine was at the dead point, and he immediately ran 
back to turn the bar, but before he had time to return, the explosion 
took place, laying a great part of the boat in ruins. The boilers and 
all the machinery were broken to minute pieces ; the social hall, 
with all its appurtenances, was shattered, according to the common 
phraseology, "into atoms," and nearly all the cabin was swept away ; 
a small part of it adjoining the ladies' cabin was all that was left. The 
extent of the devastation proved that the force of the explosion was 
tremendous. Fortunately the Augusta had but few passengers on 
board, otherwise the loss of life would have been very great. The 
names of all the victims are not known. Five dead bodies were found 
on board, and doubtless others were blown into the water. A con- 
siderable number were hurt ; some to that degree that the physicians 
were hopeless of their recovery. The pilot at the wheel, Mr. Lacha- 
pelle, with his pilot box, was blown overboard, the box being broken 
into two pieces during its transit. By using one of these pieces for a 
float, Mr. Lachapelle contrived to reach the shore. 

The five persons found dead on board were, Leonard Crown, clerk ; 
"\Y. Henderson, first engineer ; George Ward, merchant, Troy, Miss. ; 
and John Wilson and Robert Smith, deck-hands- 

The captain was never seen after the explosion, and there can be 
no doubt that he lost his life, being probably blown overboard and 
drowned. 

Badly Wounded. — DecTt Hands — William Johnson, James White, 
James Innis, James Johnson, William McDonald, and another, name 
unknown. The barber was so badly hurt that he died on the following 
day. 

Slightly Wounded. — William Taylor, second engineer, Henry 
Smith, and Lewis Lachapelle, pilot. 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI . — N 0.21, 



ST. JOSEPtr^^-=i 




Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 169 

Twenty-eight deck-hands and firemen were on board ; when they 
were called together, some time after the explosion, only eiglit could 
be mustered. There was but one female passenger, and she escaped 
unhurt. When an examination was made of the pieces of boiler found 
on deck, no doubt remained that this explosion was the result of cul- 
pable negligence on the part of the engineer. 



EXPLOSION OF THE PERSIAN. 

On the night of November 9th, 1840, the steamboat Persian collap- 
sed her flues, on the Mississippi river, three miles below Napoleon, 
Ark. The Captain was asleep at the time of the accident, and, ac- 
cording to common rumor, the pilot was intoxicated. The boat had 
stopped to take in wood. Six persons were inst^tly killed by the ex- 
plosion, seventeen died on the following day, and fifteen or sixteen 
others were supposed to be mortally wounded. The cabin passengers 
and the captain and clerk escaped uninjured. 

List of the Killed — Daniel Green, first engineer ; John Wil- 
liams, second mate ; Oscar Brown and Washington Marks, colored 
firemen ; six deck passengers, all of one family, named Floyd ; John 
Cora, second cook ; John O'Brien, deck passenger ; "\Vm. S. Ilanners, 
of Illinois ; Mr. Fields, of Tennessee, and nine others, names un- 
known. 

Thirty were scalded, with more or less severity. 



BURNING OF THE CLARKSVILLE. 

The popular and beautiful steamer Clarksville, a regular packet 
boat between New Orleans and Memphis, Tennessee, was destroyed 
by fire near Ozark island, on the 27th day of May, 1848 ; thirty deck 
passengers, nearly all the crew, and the commander, Capt. Holmes, 
lost their lives. The cabin passengers were all saved. We have ob- 
tained the following particulars of this melancholy event : 

As soon as the alarm of fire was given on board, the pilot steered 
for the island. At the moment her head touched the shore, the flames 
burst into the cabin, one of the boilers burst simultaneously, and, to 
aggravate the calamity still more, three kegs of gunpowder, which 
were among the freight, exploded at the same instant. Governor 
Poindexter, of Tennessee, who was one of the passengers, received some 
injuries. Most of the passengers lost their baggage, and none of the 



M 



AP OF THE MISSISSIPPI .— N . 22 . 




Mc Cutclien'3 LJg 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 



171 



ofBcers or crew saved anything. Captain Holmes acted most nobly 
throuf^hout the trying scene, who, after swimming ashore with his wife, 
returned to the boat, and met his death in the honorable discharge of 
his duty. Ills first impulse was to save the female passengers. Hush- 
in ^^^ to the ladies' cabin, he prevailed on the aflfrighted occupants to take 
the chairs, with the life-preservers attached to them, and commit them- 
selves to the water. He then threw the baggage, &;c., overboard, to 




BURNING OP TUB CLARKSVILLB. 



lessen the combustible material, and being now exhausted by his ex- 
ertions, and half suffocated Avith smoke, he attempted to jump over- 
board, but striking against the lower guard, he fell among the burning 
ruins, and there perished. 

The following details were furnished by a gentleman who was one 
of the surviving passengers of the Clarksville : The fire by which this 
noble boat was destroyed, was first discovered when she was about 
half a mile below Ozark island, at half-past 5 o'clock, P. M. Within 
a few minutes after the discovery of the fire, the boat reached the 
island to which the pilot had directed her course. The head of the 
steamer struck the ground, and all the passengers might easily have 
passed over the forecastle to the island, and many of them were saved 
in this way ; but others, being apprehensive of an explosion, remained 
in the cabin until they were driven from thence by the progress of the 
flames, which had, by this time, cut off all retreat by the forward part 



MAT OF THE MISSISSIPPI .— N . 23 , 
Ig^^:^--^!^-"^^;^ Glass Cock's I. 






SI li^^pi^^yi^ 




Palmetto Tt, 

Homochitta R. 



Black Hawk Pt 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 173 

of the boat. All that could now be done by the persons who remained 
aft, was to throw themselves into the river, as the stern of the boat 
lay out from the shore. Governor Poindexter and his lady were both 
injured, the former slightly, and the latter severely. The first clerk 
escaped without hat or coat, but saved the books of the boat and the 
money. The fire originated immediately over the boiler, under the 
social hall, and made such rapid progress fore and aft, that all cfi'orts 
to extinguish the flames were unavailing. The steamer Chalmetto 
took ofi" the surviving passengers. 

List of the Killed. — Captain Holmes, master of the Clarksvillc ; 
two ladies and a child, names unknown ; Charles Quinn, a deck hand ; 
the second steward, name not mentioned; Humphrey, Sam Johnson, 
Lewis, Peter Spicer, Sam Wilson, Prince, and Giles, colored firemen ; 
a negro man, his wife and four children, slaves of a Mr. Russell ; 
Sam, a slave of Gov. Poindexter ; and a colored gi^l belonging to one 
of the passengers. 

Wounded. — Governor Poindexter and lady ; Mr. Barrow, and Mr. 
Lofton, of Memphis. 



BUKNLXG OF THE CREOLE. 

The Creole was on her way from Nachitoches, on Red River, to New 
Orleans, with a full freight of cotton, and one hundred thousand dol- 
lars in specie, consigned to the Exchange Bank of New Orleans. She 
had, likewise, about one hundred passengers, including several entire 
families. At an early hour on Monday morning, February 22d, 1841, 
when the Creole had reached the mouth of Red River, she was dis- 
covered to be in flames, which spread with such rapidity as to preclude 
all hope of saving the vessel. The engineer and pilot remained at 
their posts until they were completely surrounded by the flames, and 
t succeeded in running the boat to the nearest bank of the river, before 
the tiller-ropes were burned off. Unluckily, however, the bank which 
had been reached was steep and inaccessible ; and the boat, when she 
struck against it, dislodged a quantity of earth, which fell on her bow, 
and caused her to bound off from the shore. She then became un- 
manageable, as the tiller-ropes by this time were consumed. Many of 
the passengers and crew were rescued by the steamers Baltic and Gov- 
ernor Pratt. The cargo, baggage and specie were all lost. The 
names of the killed are comprised in the following list : 

Killed. — The family of A. B. Church, consisting of two grown 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI .— N . 24 . 




Morganzie g:^^ 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 175 

daughters, himself and wife, and two colored servants ; D. "M. Delmon- 
ico, New Jersey; wife of John Abrams, St. Louis ; A. Dutchcr and 
daughter, Mobile ; E. Fitch, New Orleans ; A. Barker and wife, Tcnn. ; 
Miss Snow, of Montgomery, Ala. ; John Floyd, W. Smith, and Ed^vard 
Young, Miss. ; four colored waiters ; nine firemen, Irish ; a German 
family, six in number ; besides thirty-one persons who were more or 
less wounded. 



EXPLOSION OF THE EDWAUD BATES. 

A flue of the steamer Edward Bates collapsed on the Mississippi 
river, near Hamburg, 111., on the 9th day of August, 1848, causing 
the death of fifty-three persons, and wounding forty others. The par- 
ticulars are unknown, as few of those who witnessed the disaster sur- 
vived to tell the melancholy story. The names of some of the killed 
and wounded have been preserved, and will be found in the following 
list: 

Killed — William Chamberlain, Mr. "White, Mr. Rarridon, and Mr. 
Haines, deck passengers ; IMrs. Bowen and nephew ; Mrs. John Bowen 
and child ; Mrs. Susan Bowen and child ; Mr. Eades and two children ; 
Master Eades, his nephew ; John Brown, Andrew Hatfield, and Eli 
Delmay, deck hands ; Geo. Matson and John Lenan, firemen ; Henry 
Johnson, Wm. Parks, G. W. Lyons, J. Holliday, Wm. Amet, Frede- 
ric Smith, colored fireman, and Isaac Dozier. 

Thirteen dead bodies, exclusive of the above, were afterwards picked 
up at Hamburg. 

Wounded — George Blackwell, T. B. Ewing, D. E. Cameron, Sam- 
uel Simpson, Preston Leiper, Le Roy Jenkins, E. B. Morrison and 
wife, (badly,) M. Vansel, James Cook, J. II. Simpson, Master Bowen, 
Mr. Eades, E. T. Hudson, H. M. Swazy, J. Righter, and friend. 

Mortally Wouxded — George Watt, Samuel Dolscy, Wm. Wells, 
John Montague, Silas Bowman, Samuel Ferguson, T. M. McDonald, 
Joseph Morrison, Jacob Andrews, F. Turner, Jno. Swan, and AVm. 
Robinson. 



MAP OF THE MIS SrSSIPPI.— NO. 25. 



Bayou Sara 



Waterloo 



Lobdell'a Stores 




Port Hudson 



Proplieta I. 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 177 



BURNING OF THE PHCEXIX. 

This terrible accident occurred about four o'clock on the morninf: of 
tlie 21st of November, 1847, on Lake Michigan, within seventeen 
miles of Sheboygan. The fire was first discovered under the deck, 
near the back end of the boiler ; but it soon spread in every direction 
through the boat. There were more than two hundred passengers on 
board, and it soon became manifest that, with the means of escape 
which offered, not more than one-third of them could be saved. The 
excitement, consternation and despair which then prevailed among so 
many people doomed to a horrible death, cannot be depicted by any 
human language. About thirty of the passengers betook themselves 
to the small boats, which would contain no more, and they were taken 
up by the steamer Delaware, which soon hove in sight, but not in 
time to save those who remained on board the Phoenix, more than one 
hundred and sixty persons, all of whom were drowned or burnt to death. 

The commander of the Phoenix, Capt. Sweet, was just recovering 
from a severe illness, and was still confined to his state-room, at the time 
the vessel took fire. He escaped, however, in one of the small boats, 
and was taken up by the Delaware. A large number of the passengers 
were Hollanders emigrating to the West. The following relation was 
given by Mr. House the engineer. Mr. House remained at his post 
until the flames fairly drove him into the water. Seizing a broad-axe, 
he separated with a single stroke a rope which sustained a piece of tim- 
ber called a " fender," used to prevent the sides of the boat from chaf- 
fing against a wharf. As soon as this fender fell into the water, Mr. 
House leaped after it, but in his first efforts to get hold of it, he only 
pushed it further from him ; and at that moment, a tall and vigorous 
emigrant jumped into the water, and endeavored to gain possession of the 
piece of timber, to which Mr. House trusted for his own preservation. 
However, the Hollander could not swim, and before he could reach the 
piece of wood he disappeared under the water, leaving Mr. House in 
uncontested possession of the frail support. When it is considered 
that this accident took place in the latter part of November, and that 
the water of the lake was almost in a freezing condition, some idea may 
be formed of the effort required when the chilled and benumbed pas- 
sengers were laboring to keep themselves afloat on the various articles 
of cabin furniture, &c., which had been thrown overboard for that pur- 

12 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPri . — X 0.26. 



B. Plaq 







LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



179 




BURKING OP THE PHOENIX, 



pose. Very few of tliem indeed were able, in such trying circum- 
stances, to support themselves on the surface of the lake until assist- 
ance arrived. Mr. House soon discovered that the piece of wood 
which he had detached from the boat was not suflScient to sustain him, 
but he fortunately obtained possession of a state-room door, which 
drifted within his reach, and by attaching this with his neck-cloth to 
the fender, he formed a raft, large and buoyant enough to assure him 
of preservation from drowning ; but his sufferings from the cold were 
almost insupportable. When he first betook himself to the water, he 
was surrounded by many others, who were striving hard to prolong 
their existence until relief might providentially be afforded ; but one 
after another sunk, chilled and exhausted, into the long sleep of death. 
Very soon he found himself almost companionless on the bosom of the 
lake. In this frightful and agonizing situation, tortured almost beyond 
endurance, with both mental and corporal anguish, he remained for 
two hours. At last, Avhen almost tempted to abandon his raft, and 
precipitate himself on that fate which seemed most likely to overtake 
him eventually, he discerned the lights on board of a steamboat which 
was rapidly approaching. T\\'o or three persons were still clinging to 
settees, boards, &c., and he exhorted them in the most earnest manner 
to retain their grasp a little while longer, as relief was at hand. lie ad- 
dressed himself particularly to a lady, who had hitherto sustained her- 
self on a floating settee with admirable heroism ; he directed her at- 
tention to the approaching boat, which was now scarcely a furlong dis- 
tant ; but alas ! her emotions at the prospect of deliverance seemed to 
overcome her more than the fear of death itself ; for at this instant 
she swooned away, lost her grasp on the bench, and sunk to her final 



M 



AP OF THE MIS SISSIPPI.— NO. 27, 



Claybourne's I 
Dominique's Ldg, 



Ashland Plant'n. 




Bayou Lafourche 

DonaldsonTille ^ 



W. H. Saw Mill 
White Hall Plant'n. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 181 

resting place undei' tlie deep, blue •s\-atcrs. "When the approaching 
steamer, which proved to be the propeller Delaware, arrived at the 
spot, Mr. House was the only person found alive. The propeller had 
already succored those passengers who had escaped from the burning 
steamer in the small boats. All who had remained on the Phoenix, and 
all who had thrown themselves into the lake, with but one exception, 
had perished. 

At this time the blazing vessel presented a most awful and sublime 
spectacle. The hull was a complete bed of fire, which, bursting in 
flames from the sides, at times streamed far out over the waters, and 
then curled aloft, till flame meeting flame, the combined fiery current 
rushed furiously upward till it appeared to be lost in the clouds. "When 
Mr. House, alone on his raft, beheld this grand, but dreadful object, 
the shrouds and rigging were covered with human beings, who sought 
safety there rather than in the waters. Their terror-marked features 
were lighted up by the ghastly glare of the flames, and as the fire 
reached them in their retreat, one after another fell, shrieking, into 
the fiery furnace below. One man reached the cross-trees (an ele- 
vated position on the mast), where he lashed himself, and there he re- 
mained till all his companions had fallen, and the mast went by the 
board; but in the mean-time he was roasted to death by the fervid 
heat. While the boat was burning, and all prospects of relief were cut 
off, some betook themselves to quiet prayer, others shrieked for aid, or 
uttered phrensied exclamations of despair, and others bowed in meek 
submission to the fiat of an overruling Providence. As the flames ad- 
vanced, one voice after another was hushed in death, and finally a 
stillness, awful and profound, told the horrified spectator that the scene 
of suffering was finished. 

This disaster is supposed to have occasioned a greater loss of life 
than any other steamboat accident which ever occurred on the Ameri- 
can lakes. The greater number of those who perished were the Hol- 
land emigrants, whose names are unknown. Mr. House, the engineer, 
who related the particulars contained in this narrative, was personally 
acquainted with some of the American passengers who were lost, and 
their names only are preserved in the following list, given by Mr. II. 
himself. 

Passengers Lost. — Mr. "West, lady, and child, of Racine, Wis. ; 
Mr. Heath and sister, of Little Fort ; Mrs. Long and child, of Mil- 
waukie ; S. Burroughs, of Chicago; D. Blish, Southport ; two Misses 
Ilazelton, of Sheboygan ; twenty-five other cabin passengers, names 
unknown to Mr. House ; six or eight steerage passengers, and about 
one hundred and fifty Hollanders. 



MAP E THE MISSISSIPPI . — N 2o 



ST. JAMES I 



s.t;3ames u. 



ST, J.WIF-S 




EOmtTQUARRE CU, 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 18o 

Officers and Creav of the Boat Lost. — D. "W. Keller, steward, 
of Cleveland, Ohio ; J. C. Smith, saloon keeper, of Buffalo, N. Y. ; 
N. Merrill, second mate, of Ohio city ; W. Owen, second engineer, of 
Toledo, Ohio; II. Robinson, porter, Chicago; J. Nugent, fireman, of 
Buffalo. Beck Hands. — T. Ilarsey, T. Ferteau, of River St. Clair ; 

J. Murdock and A. Murdock, of Canada ; George , cabin boy ; 

H. Tisdale, of Cleveland, (body found ;) wheelsman, name not re- 
membered ; L. Soutbworth, of New Bedford ; and two colored cooks, 
of Detroit. 

The names of those saved were Capt. Sweet, Ohio city; Mr. Doni- 
hoe, clerk, River St. Clair; engineer, M. W. House, Cleveland; wheels- 
man, A. G. Kelso, Ohio city ; deck hand, J. Moon, Cleveland ; fireman, 
Michael O'Brien, Buffalo ; second porter, R. Watts, Cleveland. 

The Phcenix had as large a load of passengers and freight as she could 
carry. 

The loss of life was the largest which ever occurred on the lakes, 
and the property lost was immense. It is supposed that those 
one hundred and fifty Hollanders had considerable money with them, 
as they were seeking a location in the "West ; but how uncertain is life ! 
It is indeed mournful to record this sad catastrophe. 



SINKING OF THE TALISMAN. 

Before daylight on the morning of November 19th, 1847, the 
steamboats Talisman and Tempest came in collision on the Mississippi 
river, half a mile below Cape Girardeau. The Talisman was struck 
forward of the boilers, and sunk within ten minutes. The Tempest, 
which was but slightly damaged, rounded to, and came to the relief of 
the Talisman's crew and passengers. The officers and crews of both 
steamers exerted themselves to save life and property ; but to the dis- 
grace of human nature, it is related that a number of heartless and 
conscienceless scoundrels came in small boats to the scene of the dis- 
aster, and totally regardless of the supplications of the drowning pas- 
sengers who implored their aid, they betook themselves to plunder, 
seizing on the floating baggage, and every other article of value which 
came within their reach. One of the villains engaged in these nefarious 
operations was a resident of Cincinnati, and bore the name of Barnes. 
His Christian name, (if he ever had any,) is not mentioned, or gladly 
would we give it to the public ; still more gladly would we 

" Place in every honest hand a whip 
To hish tho rascal naked throuirh the world." 



MAP OF THE MISSISSIPPI .— N 0.29, 




RED CHURCH 



LLOYD S STEA,^IBOAT DISASTERS. 



18; 



Several of the crew and many of the deck passengers ■were drowned. 
Two or three families of German emigrants, numbei'ing about twenty- 
five persons, were among the passengers. Ten persons, all of ono 
family, were lost. An effort was made to rescue the bodies of the per- 
sons drowned by means of the diving bell. A young German, who 
was unable to speak a word of English, continued to wander about the 
deck of the Tempest, wringing his hands and making exclamations of 
distress ; his eyes were fixed upon the river, as if he expected the deep 
waters to give up the wife and children they had taken from him. The 
fate of Mr. Butler, the engineer, was particularly distressing. He 




SINKING OP THE TALISMAN. 



was on watch, and although he saw at once and was told repeatedly 
that the boat was sinking, he refused to leave his post until the water 
was up to his waist. It was then too late to save himself, and, being 
unable to withstand the rush of water, he was borne back among 
the machinery, and drowned. An interesting young married couple, 
whose names were unknown to the people of the boat and to their fel- 
low passengers, were among the victims of this calamity. The young 
gentleman was a good swimmer and might have saved himself; but 
perished in a vain attempt to save the life of his bride. These two 
were tlie only cabin passengers lost ; all the rest of the drowned Avere 
deck passengers, or persons belonging to the boat. Fifty-one persons, 
men, women and children, are known to have been drowned by this 
accident, and probably as many more, who are not designated in the 
annexed list. 

Persons Icnoivn to have been drowned. — Mrs. Nicholls, l\Irs. Keziah 
Bennett, Sarah Bennett, her daughter, aged ten years, Belinda Ben- 
nett, another child of Mrs. B., aged eighteen months, Thomas Bennett, 



AP OF THE MISSISSIPPI .— N 0. 30 . 




NEW ORLEANS 




Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 187 

aged eight years, and Frances Bennett, aged six years, also childrea 
of ]Mrs. B., Miss Charlotte Cady, Miss Eleanor Cady, Eliza Stone, 
aged two years. (All of these Avere from Morgan County, Ohio, mov- 
ing to Schuyler County, 111. They were travelling under the protec- 
tion of John B. Stone, whose little daughter was lost with the rest.) 
E. Williams, Johnson O'Neil, deck-hands from Pittsburgh; John Tho- 
mas Butler, chief engineer ; two children of Mr. Thomas Pryor ; six- 
teen German emigrants, whose names were not entered in the books ; 
nine negroes belonging to Mr. R. R. Buchner, of Calloway County, 
Missouri ; two young men from Armstrong County, Pa., and a family 
of ten persons from Illinois, names unknown. 

An intelligent man, who was one of the survivors, stated that the 
deck was crowded with passengers, and the boiler deck was so thronged 
with passengers, freight, and live stock, that he (the narrator) could 
scarcely find a place to lie down. He estimated the number of deck 
passengers at one hundred and fifty, and supposed that half of them, 
at least, were drowned. Only four or five bodies, among them the 
two children of Mr. Pryor, were recovered by means of the diving-bell. 
Mr. Cady, the father of the two young ladies mentioned in the fore- 
going list, used many efi"orts to recover their remains, but did not suc- 
ceed. It is conjectured that most of the bodies were carried to a great 
distance by the current. 



EXPLOSION OF THE KATE FLEMING 

The steamer Kate Fleming, Captain Dunham, on her way from Lou- 
isville to Cairo, at the mouth of the Ohio river, exploded near Walk- 
er's Landing, on Saturday, October 5, 1850, at 12 o'clock, M. She 
had been aground on Walker's bar, but had got olT, and the bell had 
given the signal to "go ahead slowly," when after a few revolutions 
of the water-wheel, the boiler exploded, dislodging the furnace, and 
setting fire to the boat which burned to the water's edge. 

List of the Killed — E. Y. Bocock, Christian C. Odell, barkeeper ; 
Annette, colored chambermaid ; JclTrcy, colored steward ; John, cabin 
boy ; Hutchinson, a slave of Mr. Moore, of Miss. ; a fireman and a 
deck-hand, and a Mr. Jennings, of New Albany. 

Wounded — Capt. Dunham ; J. Thornby, of Miss. ; the steward of 
the Kate Fleming; the mate and second cook of do., and several of 
the deck passengers. Mr. Weld, of Louisiana, was badly bruised. 



MAP OF THE OHIO , — N . 1 . 



Dead Man's I 



P 




Pliillipsburg 



Montgomery's I. 



own I. 



Line I 
Babb's 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 189 

• 

Capt. Dunham, Capt. Quarrier, and Mr. Lowry, with several others, 
"were standing on the hurricane deck, and were all blown up several 
feet in the air. Captains Dunham and Quarrier fell on the bow of the 
boat ; the others fell into the river, and saved themselves by swimming. 

The safe, containing a large amount of money, some of which 
belonged to the boat, and some deposited by the passengers, was blown 
into the river, and was supposed to be irrecoverably lost. Very few of 
the passengers saved their baggage and clothing, though some had suf- 
ficient presence of mind to throw their trunks ovdrboard. 



EXPLOSION OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN. 

The new and beautiful steamer Anglo Norman, left New Orleans 
December 14, 1850, on an experimental trip, having on board a large 
"pleasure party," consisting of two hundred and ten persons. She 
proceeded in an admirable style some distance up the river, satisfying 
all on board that she was a first-rate sailer, and giving promise of a 
brilliant career in the future ; but having tacked and directed her 
course back to the city, all her boilers exploded at the same moment, 
shattering a considerable part of the boat, and killing and wounding 
nearly half the people on board. 

Mr. H. A. Kidd, editor of the New Orleans Crescent, was one of 
the excursionists, and was reported among the killed ; but he lived to 
give a graphic account of his miraculous escape from death, which ac- 
count he somewhat eccentrically entitled " The Experience of a Blown- 
tip Man." Mr. Kidd says: 

" Mr. Digny, one of the editors of the Delta, and myself, took the 
only two chairs remaining unoccupied on the deck ; his chair having 
the back towards the pilot-house, and mine with its back to the chim- 
ney. It will be seen at once that we had seated ourselves immediately 
over the monster boilers of the boat. 

We had been engaged in conversation but a very few moments, when 
a jet of hot w^ater, accompanied with steam, was forced out of the main 
pipe just aft the chimney, and fell near us in a considerable shower. 
I had never noticed anything of the kind before, and thought the oc- 
currence very extraordinary. Just as I was about remarking this to 
Mr. Bigny, I was suddenly lifted high in the air, how high it is im- 
possible for me to say. I have a distinct recollection of passing rather 
irregularly through the air, enveloped, as it seemed to me, in a dense 
cloud, through which no object was discernible. There was a sufficient 



MAP OF THE OHIO .— N . 2 . 



Liverpool^ 



Cluster I. 



1^^ i t New Cumberland 




Cross 



Ct. 



^ .^=1 & Wellsburg 



La Grange' 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS 



191 



lapse of time for me to liave a distinct impression on my mind that I 
must inevitably be lost. In what position I went into the water, and 
to what depth I went, I have not the slightest idea. "When I arose to 
the surface, I wiped the water from my face, and attempted to obtain 
a view of things around me, but this I was prevented from doing by 
the vapor of steam, which enveloped everything as a cloud. This ob- 
scuration, however, lasted but for a short time, and when it had passed 
away, I had a clear conception of my situation. I found myself in 
possession of my senses, and my limbs in good working order. I 
looked around in every direction, and discovered that I was not far 
from the centre of the river, and in the neighborhood of some twenty 
or thirty people, who seemed to have been thrown into the water some- 
what in a heap. They were sustaining themselves on the surface as 
best they could, many of them endeavoring to get possession of float- 
ing pieces of the wreck. I could see notliing of the exploded boat, 
and was fully satisfied in my mind that she was blown all to pieces, 
and that all my fellow passengers were lost, except those who, like 
myself, were struggling in the water. I will do myself the simple jus- 
tice to say that, from the time at which I had risen to the surface, I 
had no apprehensions of drowning, though to a more disinterested 
spectator the chances might have appeared to be against me. I never 




EXPLOSION OF THKANGLO-NOnMAN. 

felt more buoyant, nor swam with greater ease. Still I thought it 
well enough to appropriate whatever aid was within my reach ; so, like 
others, I began a race, which proved to be a tedious one, after a shat- 
tered piece of plank. I finally reached it, and putting my hands 
rather rudely upon it, I got a sousing for my pains. The piece was 
too small to render me any material service. I abandoned it, and 
turned in the direction of a steamboat, which I perceived advancing, and 



MAP OF THE OHIO. — NO. 3. 



fa lZZZ^ ivi Wheeling 




Beach Bottom Bend 



Va. Short Cr. 



„ Elizabethtown 



Lainsville 
Sunfish C 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 193 

which I afterwards discovered to be the Naniopa. To keep mj face 
towards the approaching steamer, I found that I had to oppose the 
strong current of the river. This, together with the cohlness of the 
water, so exhausted my physical energies, that, for a brief space, I 
felt that I should not be able to keep afloat until the boat should reach 
me. As the steamer came near, there was a cry from my unfortunate 
neighbors in the water, * Stop the boat ! stop the boat !' 

There was, indeed, great danger of our being run over by it. I 
however had no fears on this point, and made no effort to get out of 
its way. Fortunately for myself, I was one of the first which the boat 
approached. A sailor threw out to me a large rope, which I succeeded 
in grasping at the first effort. I was drawn to the boat's guards, 
which were several feet above the water. While drawing me up, the 
kind-hearted sailor cried, 'Hold on, partner! hold on!' But I could 
not, my strength being exhausted ; the rope was slipping through my 
hands, and I should certainly have fallen back into the water, and 
been irrecoverably lost under the boat's guards, had not another sailor 
quickly reached down and seized hold of my arms. I was drawn on 
board as nearly lifeless as any one could be without being actually 
dead. Two stout men assisted me to reach the cabin. My chest, as 
I discovered from its soreness and my spitting blood, had been some- 
what bruised, but a little bathing with whiskey soon have me relief. 
My friend Bigny was one of the first I met on board." ' 

Both these editors had been in the most dangerous part of the boat, 
and their escape, almost without injury, was a remarkable instance of 
good fortune. One of the passengers who escaped, remarked, that of 
the immense boiler, weighing many tons, not a scrap as large as a 
man's hand remained. Very few of the names of those who wero 
killed could be ascertained, but the general opinion was that the number 
of the victims could not be less than one hundred. Mr. Perry, who 
was attached to the office of the New Orleans Bulletin, was one of the 
killed. The Hon. James Bebee, a member of the Missouri State 
legislature, was believed to have been lost. The persons mentioned 
below were badly wounded. Messrs. Nathan, Jarvis, Stillman, and 
Storm, of the New York Novelty Works ; Captain Ambol ; Captain 
Thompson, of the Ship Lexington. Mr. Kidd, editor of the Crescent, 
and Mr. Bigny of the Delta, were both slightly injured. 

13 



rroctor Cr. 




Mill Cr. 



^^ M"- Grandview I. 



Bath I. IIP 
Grape I. ||i 




£ Three Brothers' lalands 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 195 



EXPLOSION OF THE OREGON. 

The terrific explosion of the Oregon took place near island No. 82 
in the Mississippi river, at one o'clock, p. m., on March 2(1, 1851. All 
the boilers exploded at the same moment, carrying away the forward 
cabin, and killing, scalding or mutilating about sixty persons. The 
boat was heavily laden at the time, and carried about one hundred pas- 
sengers. 

Dinner was just over, and most of the passengers were in the social 
hall and on the forward guards. Immediately after the explosion the 
boat took fire, and burned to the water's edge. But for the timely as- 
sistance of the steamer Iroquois, which was about a mile off when the 
accident took place, all on board must have perished, as the Oregon 
was an unmanageable wreck in the middle of the channel. Capt. Lee, 
of the Iroquois, hastened to the assistance of the Oregon, but was 
obliged to stop to make some repairs. He succeeded, however, in 
reaching the Oregon, just as the flames Avere bursting through the 
hurricane deck. Men, women and children, almost surrounded by the 
raging flames, were collected on the after-part of the wreck. The 
shrieks of the affrighted women and children were heard far away over 
the waters, and as the Iroquois approached, the groans of the wounded 
and dying admonished the passengers and crew of that boat to prepare 
themselves for a ghastly and heart-rending spectacle. The captain of 
the Iroquois ran his boat aft of the Oregon ; a communication was 
then made by placing ladders on the lower deck of the Iroquois and 
resting against the Oregon's upper deck ; and on these ladders all 
the people on the wreck who were able to exert themselves, passed 
on to the Iroquois. Afterwards, with great exertion and risk, Capt. 
Lee succeeded in removing the wounded to his own cabin, the floor 
of which was soon covered with the most pitiable objects ; scalded, 
charred and dismembered bodies, still panting and writhing in the 
spasmodic contortions of the last struggle. Some, who seem to have 
been less injured, appeared to endure equal or greater torment, or were 
enabled to give expression to their sufferings in frantic exclamations 
and prayers to heaven for a speedy death. 

The cabin servants, who were at dinner, were nearly all killed. 
Eight white firemen, who were dining in the cabin at the same time, 
likewise perished. The clerk's office was entirely blown away, with all 
the books and papers of the boat. Owing to this circumstance, the 



MAP OF T II K II I . — N . O 






^iUV^ Mvi£^^^. 




Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 197 

names of comparativeljt few of the passengers who were lost can be 
ascertained ; and hence the list of killed must be regarded as verj in- 
complete. 

Killed. — George Brown, first clerk ; Richard Young, Shelby Co., 
Ky. ; William Miller, Harrison Co., Ind. ; Mrs. Asher, and Patrick 
Murphy, Louisville, Ky. ; Patrick Lyons, deck-hand ; "William Larkin, 
Louisville, Ky. ; six of the cabin servants, ( colored, ) six white fire- 
men, and Mr. Love, engineer. 

Badly Scalded. — Capt. Montgomery; Barrett Milliken, second 
clerk ; Mr. Lyons, bar-keeper ; Mr. Cannon, pilot, and J. ^L Cox, 
Nelson Co., Ky. ; besides eight or ten deck passengers who were un- 
known to the people of the boat, and too badly burnt to give any ac- 
count of themselves. 



SIXKLVG OF THE JOHN L. AVERY. 

The J. L. Avery, J. L. Robertson commander, was a new boat, 
built in the most substantial manner, and furnished with every neces- 
sary equipment for a first class passenger boat, being designed as 
a regular packet between New Orleans and Natchez. She left New 
Orleans, on her customary trip up the river, on March 7th, 1854. She 
stopped at Point Coupee and took in a large quantity of sugar and 
molasses ; and on the 9th of the same month she passed the steamer 
Sultana, off Black Hawk point, forty miles below Natchez ; and having 
left the Sultana, (with which she appears to have been racing,) about 
a mile astern, she struck what was supposed to be a tree washed from 
the shore by a recent freshet. A very large leak in the bottom of the 
boat was the consequence of this accident, and although the pilot im- 
mediately steered for the shore, the steamer sunk before she could get 
near enough to land the passengers. Mr. J. V. Guthrie, an engineer, 
and the carpenter, were standing just forward of the boilers when they 
heard the crash — the boat at the same time making a sudden surge to 
one side. The carpenter immediately lifted the scuttle-hatch and 
leaped into the hold, but finding the water pouring in too fast to admit 
of any attempt at repairing the damage, he made haste to get out 
again, at the same time giving notice to the engineer that the boat had 
snagged. Mr. Gutnrie, perceiving that the boat was going down, 
hastened to the engine, but before he got there, he was up to his knees 
in water. The cabin passengers were hurried up to the hurricane-deck. 
Soon after, the boat righted, and the hull separated from the cabin and 
Eunk in sixty feet of water. 



MAP OF THE OHIO.— NO. 6. 



Swan Bar 




jMason City 



West Columbia 



WB^ 8 Mile I. 



LLOYD S STEAJIBOAT DISASTERS 



199 



As the hull parted from the upper works, the surging of the waters 
caused the cabin floor to rise up against the hurricane roof, and six 
persons who rcmal^d in the cabin were dragged out through the sky- 
lights by Capt. Robertson and his two clerks. Mrs. Parmin, one of the 
six passengers rescued from that perilous situation, had her eldest child 
in her arms at the time, and was with difficulty prevented from plung- 
ing in again, as her babe was left asleep on the bed. But the situation 
of the deck passengers was the most calamitous ; there was a large 
number of them crowded in their allotted place, where they were walled 
in by hogsheads of sugar, Avhich would have prevented their escape, if " 
escape had been otherwise possible. These unfortunate people were 
nearly all drowned. 




SINKING OF TUC Jo UN L. AVEIIV 



There were many Irish emigrants on board, whose names were un- 
registered, and there is a great deal of wacertainty respecting the num- 
ber of those who perished. Eye-witnesses testify that a large number 
of men, women and children could be seen 4i*owningat one time. Of 
the twenty firemen on? board, twelve were drowned. The second mate 
and another person launched the life-boat, but it was almost imnicdi- 
diately upset, probably by the eager and ill-directed efforts of tlio 
drowning people to get into it. The steamer Sultana, with which the 
Avery had been racing, promptly came to the rescue of the drowninnf 
crew and passenger^, and was the means of saving some of them ; but 
the number lost is believed to be at least eighty or ninety. 

Mrs. Seymour, one of the cabin passengers who escaped, relates the 
following incidents of the wreck : 

While the passengers were at dinnor, it was remarked that the at- 
mosphere of the cabin was overheated, a circumstance which one of the 



MAP OF THE onro . — N . 7 



Gallipolis I. 
Gallipolis 



rt Pleasant 
Kanawa B. 




Sample's Ldg. J -- ... =^-=h 



Guyandotte Cr. 



Guyandotte 

Guyuudotte R. 



Lloyd's bteamboat disasters. 201 

party accounted for by stating that some unusual means had been used 
to get up extra steam, as the officers of the Avery were resolved to out- 
run the rival steamer, Sultana. Mrs. Seymour had retired to her 
state room for an afternoon nap, from which she was aroused by the 
concussion when the boat struck ; and soon after, she found herself in 
the water. She was drawn up into the floating cabin by one of the 
waiters, named John Anderson, who, as Mrs. Seymour testifies, was in- 
strumental in saving the lives of several other paasengcrs. She states 
that her pocket-book, containing nine hundred dollars, which had been 
placed under her pillow, was lost. She also lost a manuscript wliich 
she was preparing for tho press, and which she valued still more highly 
than her pocket-book. 

Mrs. Seymour continues : — I cast my eyes upon the water, which 
was covered with fragments of the cabin. To these frail supports hu- 
man hands were clinging, while many human voices were crying, '"Save 
me ! oh, save me !" The water at first was dotted with human heads, 
sinking and rising, and then sinking to rise no more. A sudden splash 
drew my attention to the side of the boat, and I saw that a young lady, 
who had been drawn from the inundated cabin through the sky-light 
and placed in safety on the floating deck, in the delirium of the mo- 
ment had plunged again into the water, from which she never, again 
emerged. Several others followed her example, but appearing again 
an the surface, they were rescued by the waiter Anderson and two or 
three others of the boat's crew, who never slackened in their efforts to 
save human life. Tv.'o or three gentlemen leaped into the water and 
swam to land. A fine Texan poney, belonging to Mrs. Emerson, es- 
caped from the deck, and endeavored to save himself by swimming. lie 
reached the shore, but not being able to climb the bank, ho fell back 
into the water and was drov<ned. In a Taint but earnest tone, I heard 
a female voice say, " Oh, William, do save her !" On directing my 
gaze to the place from whence the voice caine, I saw a woman sinking 
in the river. At the same time a child's voice exclaimed, '* Oh, 
mother, he cannot save me!" I saw her fair hair, all wet, fall back 
from her young face as her little arms loosened their grasp on the 
neck of her brother, and the mother and her two children sank together. 



MAP OF THE OHIO . — N 




Hanging Rock'^? ^~^= 



2 AYheeIcrsburgh'.^^ ^^ =- 

O 

H 
O 

O • 



ijSpringvillc 



'^^otcTKlver 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 203 



OOLLISION OF STEAMER CHESAPEAKE AND SCnOONER 

rOllTEll. 

The steamers Chesapeake and Constellation from Buffiilo, were sail- 
ing in company on Lake Erie, June 9, 1847, and being oflf Conneaut 
about midnight, they met the schooner Porter, which turned aside to 
avoid the Constellation, and came in contact with the Chesapeake. It 
appears that the light on board the Chesapeake was mistaken by 
the helmsman of the schooner for a light on shore, and by some mis- 
calculation of the distance, the schooner ran into the steamer, which 
she struck on the larboard bow. At the moment of collision, the crew 
of the Porter sprang on board the Chesapeake, and the latter con- 
tinued her course out into the lake. Captain Waine of the Chesa- 
peake, thinking that neither vessel was much injured, put about, and 
steered for the Porter in order to return her crew; but as she came 
nearer, it was perceived that the Porter was sinking, and by the time 
the small boat was lowered, she had disappeared. At this moment, 
the captain was informed that the steamer was leaking. All hands 
were called to the pumps, but the water gained on them, and the pas- 
sengers were set to bailinfi;. The firemen were driven from the hold 
by the rush of water. The Captain had ordered her to be run ashore ; 
she was accordingly headed in that direction, but before she had pro- 
ceeded far, the water had put out her fires, and the engine stopped. 
The anchor was then let go to maintain her position, as the wind was 
blowing freshly from the shore. From this time to the moment the 
boat sunk, all hands were employed in preparing floats for the con- 
veyance of the crew and passengers to land. The Captain advised all 
to stick to the wreck, but some left it notwithstanding, hoping to swim 
ashore, or to float thither on pieces of plank, furniture, kc, but no- 
thing was heard of them afterwards. Among those who left the boat 
in this way, was the chief engineer. 

"Within half an hour after the collision, the Chesapeake went down, 
head foremost, in seven fathoms water. The upper deck separated 
from the hull, and remained on the surface. On this floating platform, 
the passengers who remained alive, took refuge. Many of them were 
women and children, and their shrieks for aid are described by Cap- 
tain Waine (who tells the story of the disaster) as most appalling. At 
this critical juncture, the steamer Harrison hove in sight, but soon 
passed them at a distance without hearing their cries for help. The 



MAP OF THE OHIO . — N . 9 . 



Kinkinick Is. 



Buena V i s t:v |;^ -=^=^- ^=- 
rvockport-ji 




"--^^;;s ; : _— > i!y;> Yanceburgli 



BruBh Cr. Is. 



Jlanchcste r'^ f ^^ — — ^ 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 205 

Harrison stopped at Connaut, about a mile and a half distant from the 
■wreck, and her captain was there informed by the clcj^ of the Chesa- 
peake, who, with several other persons had reached the shore in a 
small boat, that his assistance was needed. The Harrison immediately 
started for the place, and rescued all who were still alive on the float- 
ing deck. 

The persons named below are known to have been drowned : 

Mrs. Houk, Waterton, N. Y. ; G. Van Doren, Sandusky ; E. Cone, 
Belle Air, Ohio ; S. York, Tiffin, Ohio ; R. Sutherland, chief engineer ; 
Orson "Ware, second porter ; 11. McNabb, deck-hand. 

Besides these, many passengers whose names were unregistered, 
were undoubtedly lost. The clerk's books, and about ^8000 in specie, 
sunk with the hull, and were never recovered. 

During that awful half hour which preceded the sinking of the Chesa- 
peake, the state of affairs on board was almost too horrible for descrip- 
tion. The night was exceedingly dark ; a high wind was blowing from 
the shore, precluding all hope of reaching land on floats ; the boat was 
fast sinking, and death to all on board seemed inevitable. The cap- 
tain preserved all his serenity, and advised the passengers that their 
only chance of safety consisted in remaining on the wreck. He as- 
sisted his wife and another lady to climb the mast, and fixed them on 
the cross-trees. Mr. Lytle, the steward of the boat, was very active 
and self-possessed, helping such as needed help, and often exposed 
his life to imminent peril in order to preserve the lives of others. 

At length the bow began to fall, and the cry was heard, " She is 
going !" One loud, long, and unearthly shriek arose simultaneously 
from the despairing multitude ; a shriek which the survivors say is 
still ringing in their ears, and such a shriek as they hope never to 
hear again. Many had betaken themselves to floating articles, set- 
tees, cabin-doors, planks, tables, &c. One man was seen to turn under 
his plank, where he remained, his fingers only visible, holding on with 
the grasp of death. A gentleman and his wife were seen on a float, 
sometimes sinking, and then rising again to the surface. The hidy, 
not having presence of mind enough to guard against inhaling the 
water, soon became strangled and exhausted, and died beside her hus- 
band, who held out some time longer, but finally sunk into the same 
watery grave which had received his wife. " They loved in life, and 
in death they were not divided." 

The most touching case was that of Daniel Folsom, his wife, and 
child. When the engine ceased to work, the yawl-boat was manned 
and sent ashore in charge of Mr. Sheppard, the clerk. Ten men 



MAP OF THE OHIO , — N . 10 . 




g Augusta 



Fourier TownI{?j 
■BulIpkinCti 

Eural 




■' RockBpring Landing 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 207 

■^ere put on board, and four ladies, among whom was Mrs. Folsom. 
She at first refused to go without her husband. lie knew it Avas not 
the time to debate such a question, and instantly resorted to the only 
argument which could prevail, by taking the child and putting it in 
the boat. She then followed, and the husband took an aflectionato 
leave of her at the gang-way. All of this family were saved. 



BURNL\G OF THE ORLINE ST. JOIIX. 

The steamboat Orline St. John left Mobile for Montgomery, Ala., 
on Monday evening, March 2d, 1850. On the fourth of the same month, 
when within four miles of her place of destination, she was discovered 
to be on fire on the larboard side, near the boilers. In less than three 
minutes from the time at which the first alarm was given, the whole 
cabin was enveloped in a sheet of flame. There were about one hun- 
dred and twenty human beings on board, and it is reported that not 
more than fifty of that number survived the destruction of the boat. 
As soon as the fire was discovered, the pilot steered for the shore, 
which the steamer fortunately reached before the tiller-ropes were 
severed by the flames. The boat was run ashore in a dense cane-brake 
on which her bow and waist rested, while the stern projected into the 
river. A few persons who happened to be on the forward part of the 
boat were landed without any difficulty, but the greater number of 
passengers ran aft, with the hope of getting into the yawl. But the 
deck passengers and a part of the crew had got possession of this 
small boat, and had already left the steamer. More than one hundred 
people were now collected at the stern, which, as mentioned above, 
projected into the deep water, which efi'ectually cut ofi" all means of es- 
cape in that quarter ; and to go forward was now impossible, as the 
whole of the middle of the boat was completely wrapped in flame. To 
make the situation of these people still more critical, the cabin threat- 
ened to fall on them. " As the flames spread aft, (says an eye-witness,) 
the scene was indeed terrible. The ladies and children had gathered 
in the extreme after-part of the boat, and their screams for help can 
never be erased from my memory." 

If the yawl had been brought back, all might have been saved ; but 
the deck hands who had taken possession of it, ran it ashore in the 
cane-brake ; and before the captain and second mate could bring it 
back, all who remained on the steamer, without a single exception, 



MAP OP THE OHIO . — N . 11 



Es\ Foster's Landing 



Ji!.~, 




Jamestown 



Columbia'^' 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS 



209 



were drowned or burned to death. Every woman and child who had 
been in the boat was lost ; the only persons saved were those few who 
escaped over the bow when the boat struck, and the five or six deck 
hands who ran off with the yawl. There were a number of returned 
California gold diggers on board ; such of them as saved their lives lost 




BUHKING or TBK R L I MI ST. JOHN. 

all the produce of their toils. No property of any kind was saved, ex- 
cept a trunk belonging to Col. Preston, which his servant threw over 
the bow into the cane-brake. 

List of Killed. — Mrs. Hall and daughter, Augusta, Ga. ; Mrs. 
and Miss Vanhorn, and Mrs. Cain, S. C. ; Thomas Stevens, printer, 
Camden, S. C. ; Judge Tindslay, Hugh Hughes, second mate, and 
Peter Upson, steward, and wife, Mobile, Ala. ; the second cook, 
colored, two white deck hands, eight colored firemen and slaves of pas- 
sengers, and ten or twelve cabin passengers, names unknown. 

Edward Maul, second clerk of the steamer Farmer, and a returned 
Californian, were severely burned. Purser Price, of the United States 
Navy, from California, lost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in 
gold belonging to government. Mr. Noland, a Californian, lost ten 
thousand dollars, and several others from the gold region lost all they 
had. The boat, cargo, and baggage Avere entirely destroyed. There 
was an insurance on the steamer for twenty thousand dollars. 

14 



MAP OF THE OHIO.— NO. 12. 

>Newport 



AcV^ng 



Home City 



North Bend 




-R 



;?. Covington 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 211 



EXPLOSION OF THE ANTHONY WAYNE. 

The Anthony "Wayne was an old steamer belonging to the regular 
line of Buffalo and Sandusky packets. On Sunday morning, at half- 
past one o'clock, April 28, 1850, while making one of heir usual trips, 
this boat exploded, on Lake Erie, opposite the mouth of Vermillion 
river, and eight miles from the shore. Within twenty minutes after 
the explosion, the steamer sunk, the hull parting from the hurricane 
deck, and leaving the latter afloat on the lake. The surviving passen- 
gers and crew remained on this fragment of the wreck until daylight, 
when the schooner Elmira, Capt. Nugent, came up and took them off, 
together with the wounded, and all the dead bodies which could be re- 
covered. There were eighty-four persons on the Anthony Wayne, 
about half of whom were saved alive, though some of these were badly 
wounded. 

List of Killed. — Myron Tytus, of Dayton, Ohio ; M. Hart, Per- 
rysville, Ohio ; wife and child of John Ellis, Mount Hope, Mich. ; J. 
W. Doty, Warsaw, 111. ; J. J. Elmore, and J. Burchard, engineers ; 
Henry Sturges, steward. Mount Clemens, Mich. ; G. Franklin, fire- 
man, of Detroit ; A. J. Meade, bar-keeper ; Wiley Robinson, John 
Williamson, and Henry Kelly, cooks ; two waiters, colored ; Alexander 
Cartwright, deck-hand ; John Brainard, and James O'Neil, firemen ; 
Whitney Parsons, porter ; Henry Blane, deck-hand ; John Falkner ; 
Henry McDonough, and several others, names unknown. 

Dangerously Wounded. — J. H. Josler, Crittenden County, Vt. ; 
Robert Shay, Dayton, Ohio ; John Terry, Louisville, Ky. ; C. G. Law- 
rence, Angelica, N. Y. ; A. W. Gray, Stillwater, N. Y. ; a son of Mr. 
Ellis, Mount Hope, ]\Iich. 

Slightly Wounded. — John Beadley, Cleveland, Ohio ; Matthew 
Faulkner, Sheflield, Mass. 

The case of Mr. Archer Brackney, one of the passengers, is mourn- 
fully interesting. He was on his way from Lafayette, La., to Phila- 
delphia, with the remains of his wife and child, recently deceased. 
Both the corpses were enclosed in one box. When the explosion took 
place, he succeeded in dragging his two living children from their 
berths, and with them plunged into the water. Finding himself un- 
able to support the two children on the surface, he looked around for 
some piece of the wreck which might be useful in preserving their lives. 



MAP OP THE OHIO.— NO. 13 



Lawrenceburgf{ 




^gf Big Bone Bar 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 213 

A floating object attracted his attention ; it was the box which con- 
tained the bodies of his wife and chikl. On this he placed his little 
boy and girl, and endeavored to keep the box in an upright position, but 
the surges caused it to pitch and roll in such a manner, that his son, 
in spite of all his efforts, was washed off and drowned. He now turned 
all his attention to the preservation of the other child, and finally suc- 
ceeded in gaining the floating part of the wreck with his little daughter, 
and both were saved. 



EXPLOSION OF THE CLIPPER. 

This explosion, of which a very vague account has been preserved, 
took place on Wednesday, September 19th, 1843, at about a quarter 
past twelve o'clock, M. One of the passengers, who lived to relate the 
story, and who appears to have powers of description peculiar to him- 
self,' states that the Clipper " blew up with a report that shook earth, 
air, and heaven, as though the walls of the world were tumbling to 
pieces about our ears. All the boilers bursted simultaneously ; vast 
fragments of the machinery, huge beams of timber, articles of furniture, 
and human bodies, were shot up perpendicularly, as it seemed, hundreds 
of fathoms in the air, and fell like the jets of a fountain in various 
directions ; some dropping on the neighboring shore, some on the roofs 
of the houses, some into the river, and some on the deck of the boat. 
Some large fragments of the boilers, &c., were blown at least two hun- 
dred and fifty yards from the scene of destruction. The hapless vic- 
tims were scalded, crushed, torn, mangled, and scattered in every 
possible direction ; some were thrown into the streets of the neighbor- 
ing town, (Bayou Sara,) some on the other side of the bayou, three 
hundred yards distant, and some into the river. Several of these un- 
fortunates were torn in pieces by coming in contact with pickets or 
posts, and I myself, (says the same credible witness,) saw pieces of 
human bodies which had been shot like cannon balls through the solid 
walls of houses at a considerable distance from the boat." 

Every object in front of the wheel-house was swept away as if by a 
whirlwind. A gentleman who visited the place where the killed and 
wounded had been deposited, at Bayou Sara, says, " The scene was 
such as we never hope to look upon again. The floors of the two large 
ware-rooms were literally strewn with the wounded and dying, and 
others were pouring in as fast as it was possible to convey them to the 
spot. The sufferers were praying, groaning, and writhing in every con- 
tortion of physical agony. 



MAP 



THE OHIO . — N . 




XiOg LiV 



^^Ghent 



d 

*^ 
o 

< 



LLOYD'S STEAITBOAT DISASTERS. 215 

Killed. — Mr. Berry, chief clerk ; second clerk, name not mentioned ; 
William Sumpter, second engineer ; (he was thrown more than one 
hundred and fifty yards, through the roof and gable end of a house, 
into the back yard against a fence ; his body being completely dis- 
membered, and crushed out of all resemblance to the human form ;) 
William Nelson, third engineer.; Arnault J. Laraud, pilot; William 
Wall, second pilot ; the watchman ; Gabriel Pool, carpenter ; two 
colored cooks, the cabin boy and eight firemen, four deck hands and 
others, names not remembered. 

Wounded. — John Tyson, chief engineer ; John Peterson, mate ; and 
a number of deck passengers, names unknown. 

The watchman mentioned in the list of the killed, was thrown one 
hundred yards from the boat, through the solid walls of Bacon's hotel, 
and into a bed. He retained his senses perfectly, but expired within 
half an hour after the explosion. The cabin boy was thrown two hun- 
dred yards, through the roof of a shed ; he was taken up dead and 
frightfully mangled. 



LOSS OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

The George Washington was on her way from Cincinnati to New 
Orleans, and at one o'clock, A. M., on January 14th, 1852, when she 
was a short distance above Grand Gulf, Miss., the boilers exploded, and 
the boat was burnt to the water's edge. She had in tow, at the time, 
two barges, heavily laden, both of which, with their cargoes, were to- 
tally consumed. But these losses are insignificant, when compared 
with the destruction of human life which was one of the efi'ects of this 
accident. William Carroll, the first clerk of the George Washington, 
a Mr. James Treat, P. Supner, the cook, a fireman, six deck hands and 
six deck passengers were all killed at the moment of the explosiortf 
Several passengers, names not known, are believed to have been burned 
with the boat. Mr. Chiswell, the carpenter, was badly scalded, and 
died within a few hours. Mr. Kuykendale, a passenger, was mortally 
wounded. Capt. Irwin, C. D. Clemone, passenger, and several others, 
were more or less injured. , 




(210) 



SKETCH OF ST. LOUIS. 



St. Loris is situated on the right bank of the Mississippi river, eighteen miles below the 
entrance of the Missouri river, one hundred and eighty-two miles above the mouth of tho 
Ohio river, eight hundred and forty-eight miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, eleven hun- 
dred and eighty-two miles above New Orleans, and ono hundred and fifty miles below Jefferson 
city, the capital of the State of Missouri. St, Louis is a port of entry, and is situated in St. 
Louis County, lat. 3S° 37' 28" N., long. 90° 15' 16" W. The site rises from the river by two 
plateaus of limestone formation, thefir.-^t twenty and the second, sixty feet above the flciods of the 
Mississippi river. The ascent to the first plateau is somewhat abrupt; the second rises more 
gradually, and spreads out into an extensive plain, affording excellent views of the city and tho 
mighty river. The present site of St. Louis was selected by Laclede, in February 1764, as one 
possessing peculiar advantages for the fur trade, and for defence against tho savage Indi- 
ans, who at that time held almost undisputed sway, not only in Missouri, but in the United 
States. The confluence of the different rivers in the immediate neighborhood of St. Louis was a 
desideratum in the estimation of the trapper. It has become of vast importance to the place 
in establishing it at a centre for agricultural and manufacturing enterprises. The statistica 
of these early times show that for sixteen successive years, ending in 1805, the average an- 
nual value of the furs collected at this place, amounted to $303,750. Tho number of Doer 
skins was 190,000 ; of Beaver, 46,000 ; of Otter, 11,000 ; of Bear, 70,100 ; and of Buffalo, 1360. 
The population of St. Louis at this period was about 1500, more th.an one-half of whom were 
absent a great part of each year, engaged in trapping. It will readily bo understood that the 
elements which gave this settlement an existence, were not of a character adequate to foster it 
beyond the limits of a small frontier village, and accordingly as late as 1820, the accession of 
population was only about 1600; up to this date the census only shows the population to have 
been 3,146. Military expeditions and establishments, together with a small emigration con- 
fined to those peculiar temperaments which delight in the wild and dangerous, still kept up a 
progressive improvement, which, centering here for personal security, as well as for trade, still 
fi.xcd it as the seat of a commercial and manufacturing metropolis, destined in a few years to 
become an object of interest throughout tho world. On the 11th of August, 1768, a Spanish 
officer by the name of Rious, with a company of Spanish troops, took possession of St. Louis and 
Upper Louisiana, as it was termed, in the name of his Catholic majesty, under whose control 
it remained until the final transfer to the United States by Napoleon, in 1804. In 1813, the first 
brick house ever put up on the banks of tho Mississippi, was erected at St. Louis. In 1817, 
the first steamboat (Antelope) arrived hero on her way to explore tho great Missouri river, 
which at that time was almost as totally unknown as the Arctic ocean. In 1822, St. Louis 
was chartered as a city under the title given by Laclede, in honor of Louis XV. of France. 
From 1S25 to 1830, the influx of population from all parts of the United States began to be 
of importance. It was then St. Louis received its first great impulse, and commenced ex- 
tending its commerce from New Orleans to the Rocky Mountains, which has since givea 
it tho name of the Atlantic city of tho Mississippi valley. In 1829, the keel boat entirely dis- 
appeared ; the steamers Tellow-stone and Assinaboino about this time ascended to the groat 
falls of tho Missouri river, and from that day to the present, fine steamers have continued to 
make trips up the turbulent Miasouri river, and tho progress of St. Louis has been upward and 
onward. 

The natural advantages which St. Louis enjoys, as a commercial emporium, are probably not 
surpassed by those of any inland port in the world. Situated midway butwocn two oceans, and 

(217) 



218 -Lloyd's steamboat disasteks. 

near the geographical course of the finest agricultural and mineral region on the globe, almost . 
at the very focus towards which converge the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Ohio, and the Il- 
linois rivers, there can be no doubt that she is destined to be, at no distant day, the great 
distributing and receiving depot of most of the vast region drained by these rivers. 

Public Buildings. — The new court house is constructed of St. Genevieve limestone ; it 
occupies an entire squarcj and the style of the architecture resembles that of the capitol at 
Washington. This building cost $500,000. The new custom house is another magnificent 
building, the cost of which is estimated at $350,000. The market and city hall compare with 
the present beautiful appearance of the city. The city contains sixty-four churches, belong- 
ing to different denominations ; several of these sacred edifices are among the most ornamen- 
tal Isuildings of the city. 

Commerce. — St. Louis is by far the greatest shipping point on the Ohio or Mississippi 
rivers. There are constantly plying to and from this point, over six hundred steamers. With 
such a large inland navigation as St. Louis possesses, the commerce of the port requires a 
large number of vessels j and the tonnage of its shipping exceeds that of any other Western 
city. 

Manufactures. — The manufactures of St. Louis, though yet in their infancy, are scarcely 
less important than her commerce. The manufacture of flour is carried on more extensively 
here than in any other city of the West. The manufacture of various chemicals and oils, is 
also very extensive. There are twenty tobacco manufactories in this city, and many other 
establishments for the manufacture of hemp, iron, steam engines, mill machinery, &c., &c. 

General Business. — Among the most considerable iron manufactories of this city, may 
be mentioned the large foundry of Messrs. Dowdall, Carr & Co., situated on the corner of 
Second and Morgan Streets. At this establishment are manufactured steam engines, mills and 
machinery of all kinds; at these extensive iron works, one hundred men are constantly em- 
ployed. 

Hardware Establishments — There are numerous hardware stores in St. Louis, many 
of them doing business of millions annually. But the most prominent house in this trade ia 
that of Messrs. Child, Pratt & Co. This is the oldest and most extensive hardware house 
in America. They supply almost the entire South and West, their sales amounting in the 
aggregate to no less than seueri millions annually. The firm of Child, Pratt & Co. have been 
in existence ever since 1800 ; and having almost unlimited capital they are enabled to buy for 
cash at astonishingly low figures both in New York and Europe ; consequently purchasers 
from the West and South go to St. Louis for their supplies of hardware instead of going to 
New York, Boston or Philadelphia. 

The present firm is composed of five persons, Messrs. Alonzo Child, E. G. Pratt, 0. W. 
Child, E. AV. Fox and S. C. Mansur. The founder of the house, Mr. Alonzo Child, to 
meet the requirements of the business, with another partner, occupies a store at 55 ClifF street. 
New York, leaving the general management of the business here to the enterprising partners, 
Messrs. Pratt, Fox & Mansur. The latter are practical business men, bred to the hard- 
ware business — salesmen whose qualities are well known on Main street, as those of thorough 
piasters of their work, experienced judges of' goods, well posted in all the wants of the coun- 
try trade, and marked for honorable dealing, and thorough energy. 

Some idea may be formed of what a centre of trade St. Louis is, from the statement that 
the house of Child, Pratt, & Co. sell goods to regular customers from the following States 
and Territories: Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ar- 
kansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, and New Mexico. Their sales run up to five hundred thou- 
sand dollars per month, ranging up as high as fifty thousand with individual houses. The 
contrast of this flourishing business with that of 1835, is as striking as that between the pres- 
ent population of 146,000, and that of the same year. 

We deem this notice of this firm due chiefly to the worthy senior partner of the house, as 
the oldest hardware merchant of the city, who has built up a business which is an honor to 
St. Louis. It is exclusively a general hardware shelf business, which oS"ers such inducements 
to country buyers that no advantage can bo gained by an Eastern trip. Mr. Child has de- 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 219 

monstrated that fairness and probitji added to industry and perseverance, can command tho 
utmost saccess desired. In his own prosperity, many young men have shared, who now en- 
joy the prospect of a successful business career, while his capital haa been advantageously 
used in the establishment of a branch of manufactures here, which bids fair to be a source of 
wealth to those now engaged in it, and already attracts the attention of buyers to this market. 
We allude to tho saw manufactory, which, wo believe, owes its sucoessfal establishment to the 
suggestion and capital of this house. 

This celebrated firm have recently removed to their new buildings at 139 A 141 Main street. 
These buildings are the most substantial and costly ever erected in St. Louis. Having a 
broad front of fifty feet on Main street, it extends back one hundred and ten feet to Com- 
mercial, standing four stories in height on the former, and five on the latter, the stories 
averaging fifteen feet in the clear, the whole fire-proof from foundation to roof. The front 
is well arranged for imposing efi"ect, being executed, for one story, with rusticated piers, with 
tasteful, well-proportioned capitals, supporting five semi-circular arches, finished, to correspond 
with the piers, with ornamental key-stones. Tho second story, like the first, is opened with 
circular arches sprung from appropriate pilasters. Encircling the building there are stone- 
string coarse mouldings, forming a pleasant contrast with the brick ; while the cave cornice, 
with bold and massive modillions, crowns the building, giving it an architectural finish in 
admirable keeping with the general style of the edifice. 

Passing into the interior, the arrangements, on a most spacions scale, constitnte this build- 
ing probably the finest hardware house in the United States; and the impression made upon 
the eye is, that in general adaptation to the wants of the business, the highest skill and exper- 
ience have been brought into requisition. A largo opening is placed in the centre for light 
and air, with ornamented bannisters and handrails enclosing it on each floor. The stair cases, 
substantially and handsomely built, are spacious and well graduated for ease of ascent and de- 
scent, and situated with the least possible interference with the main area of each story. 

Great taste is displayed in the arrangement of the shelves and counters for each particular 
article. Half of the first floor on Main street is surrendered to the pattern department, 
where, in most attractive display, are exhibited samples of every article in the house. This 
department is well worthy a visit, for it shows at a glance, in beautiful array, as if in a 
Hardware Fair, everything pertaining to the legitimate hardware business. 

Banking. — The complaint which was formerly made against the unsubstantial character 
o-f the Western Banking Establishments can no longer be supported by facts as far as St. 
Louis is concerned. The Banking house of Messrs. Lucas & Simonds, situated on tho corner 
of Main and Chestnut streets, stands alone in the West for immense capital. The individual 
members of this celebrated Banking house have millions of dollars in real estate, in the very 
heart of St. Louis, besides their great capital invested in the Banking business ; some idea 
of their immense wealth may be formed when we say that they have a standing margin at 
the Banking houses in New York City, of several millions dollars. This firm is in financial 
correspondence with Baring Brothers & Co. London; tho London and Westminister Bank, 
Messrs. Coutts <fc Co. of the same city; Quion & Co. and others of Liverpool; National 
Bank of Scotland, Edinburgh, and its Branches in at least two towns and cities. The Provin- 
cial Bank of Ireland, Dublin, and all its branches in the difi'erent towns and cities of that 
country ; they also correspond with the principal Banking Establishments of France, Ger- 
many, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, &o. This house has also the largest and safest 
Banking house in San Francisco, California, whose shipments of gold dust are more extensive 
than all tho other houses in San Francisco. Tho San Francisco house is under the manage- 
ment of Henry L. Turner, Genl. Wm. T. Sherman, and Benjamin R- Nisbet, who are the 
resident partners in California. No man ever lost a single dollar by these Banking houses, 
and it really is a pleasure to be able to say so much for these Establishments, which have been 
tried time and again, and not "found wanting." Such men as James H. Lucas, and Capt. 
John Simonds, are of incalculable benefit to the prosperity of a city like St. Louis, they are 
liberal and enterprising, and thousands of persons have often felt their generosity in more 
ways than one. 



220 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

Shot totvtr. — This stmcture is the first thing to be seen in coming in sight of St. Louis ; it 
is situated near the river bank in the upper part of the city. It is owned by Capt. John Si- 
monds and Capt. Ferd. Kennett. The shot made at this Tower is of a superior quality, and such 
is the demand for " Kennett's & Simond's shot," that they are unable to supply the demand. 

Clothing establishments. — The largest dealers in ready made clothing of superior qual- 
ity, is that of Messrs. Martin & Brother, Nos. 1 and 114 Main street. There is no house in 
6t. Louis so noted for the cheapness and superior make of their clothing as this old established 
house. Their house in New York is constantly manufacturing goods for the St. Louis branch ; 
these gentlemen sell twenty per cent cheaper than any other clothiers in St. Louis or the West. 
Their sales amount to $200, 000 monthly. 

Carpetings. — The largest importing house in this branch of business, is that of Mr. Isaac 
Walker, 122 and 124 Main street, corner of Vine, this house does an immense business — 
■wholesale and retaiU 

Boots and shoes. — Messrs. J. F. Comstock & Co. stand at the head of houses in the 
Boot and Shoe trade. Their wholesale rooms are at No. 150 Main street. 

Dry goods. — One of the most stupendous concerns in the United States, in the wholesale 
Staple and Fancy Dry Goods, is that of Messrs. Pomeroy & Benton. A few years ago, the 
Santa Fe Traders invariably went to New York to buy their stock of dry goods, but now 
they never think of dealing anywhere else than at this house; the members of this firm con- 
trol unlimited capital ; one of the partners resides in New York and Paris, and is constantly 
buying at the lowest cash rates and shipping to his St. Louis house. Hence their unprecedented 
success in business. This house supplies Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, and 
part of Tennessee. We called into their store a few weeks since, and were astonished to see 
so many country merchants selecting and buying their Fall and Winter stock. Great enterprise 
and cheap bills will always sweep the feet from under the " old Fogie" dealers- 

Foreign and yankee notions. — Messrs. Brown & Co. are the only Dealers in this busi- 
ness, consequently they are always " on the rush," packing and forwarding to their cus- 
tomers. 

Jewelers. — The most flourishing concern is that of Messrs. J. & A. Gardner, importers 
and dealers in watches and diamonds, silver ware, fine cutlery, and fancy goods generally. 
This house is situated in the marble buildings, No. 93 Fourth street. By the way we may re- 
mark of these " marble buildings," that they are among the finest structures in the United 
States, they are occupied by L. Jaccard & Co., Jewelers, W. W. Wakelams, Music store, 
& J. S. Chandler; men noted for their fair dealings and liberality. 

Commission merchants. — Wm. H. Harlan, Esqr., who is well known to the people of the 
Mississippi Valley as an upright and strictly business man, has opened an office and ware- 
house for the purpose of doing a general Produce forwarding and commission business — 
office. No. 80 North levee. 

Hotels. — Among other traits of superiority on which St. Louis plumes herself, is the 
unrivalled elegance of her houses of public entertainment. First among these, is the 
" Townsley house," whose fame has reached the remotest limit of the continent. We may 
say, without fear of contradiction, that a more faultless establishment of the kind is not to be 
found between the two oceans. It is, comparatively speaking, a new establishment likewise, 
having been erected last spring at the cost of $150,000, with a determination to eclipse every 
similar enterprise which had been undertaken, in the Western country at least. The site of 
this hotel was selected with the best taste and judgment, its locality being on Fourth street, 
between Olive and Locust streets, at a point convenient to the centre of business, and in fact 
in the very heart of the city; a locality which is free, however, from the din, smoke, dust, and 
other annoyances to which the principal streets and thronged avenues of St. Louis are com- 
monly liable. The parlour and chambers of the Townsley House are finished in the most 
sumptuous style, and furnished with every means and appliance of comfort and luxury. It is 
worth a journey of fifty or a hundred miles to witness the admirable order with which every 
thing is arranged and conducted in this establishment. Mr. Townsley, the proprietor, is the 
most courteous and gentlemanly of landlords. All the officials and servants of the House are 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 221 

trained to their several duties with military precision, so that the whole business of the hotel 
proceeds with the regularity of clock work, proving that the tact and skill of the management 
is equal to the arduous task of conducting a business of such magnitude. The Townsley House 
is always filled with guests, but in consequence of the orderly arrangements just spoken of, 
there is no appearance of over-crowding, and no unpleasant commotion incident to the arri- 
val and departure of so many visitors. As this work is intended to be a vade mecum for trav- 
ellers, we consider it a part of our duty to bestow merited commendation on such hotels as the 
Townsley House, and we feel satisfied that every one of our readers who may act on our sug- 
gestion, and make this his stopping place when he arrives at St. Louis, will not consider this 
notice too much extended, or too complimentary. 

Population.— The population of St. Louis, in 1830, was 6,694 j in 1840, 16,469; in 1S50, 
77,404; in 1852, 94,819; in 1856, 146,364. 



MAP OF THE OHIO.— NO. 15. 




Hanover College & Landing -^ 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 223 



EXPLOSION OF THE REDSTONE. 

The disaster we are about to record, took place on the Ohio river, a 
short distance above Carrollton, April 2, 1852. The Redstone was a 
small boat, about three years old, and was built at Pittsburgh for the 
Brownsville Slackwater Navigation. At the time to which we now 
refer, she was plying in the Madison and Cincinnati trade, in opposi- 
tion to the regular line of Madison packets. She left Madison about 
noon on the day aforesaid, with thirty or forty passengers on board, 
and had stopped above Carrollton to take in a Mr. Scott. His parents 
accompanied him to the shore, and were looking at him when the boat 
began to move off; a moment after, they were horrified by seeing him 
blown high in the air, and then fall into the river. Two boilers ex- 
ploded — one of them was blown on shore, and, in its course, prostrated 
a sycamore tree two feet in diameter. The trees and the shore, for 
hundreds of yards, were lined with shreds of clothing, sheets, blankets, 
and other vestiges of the wreck. A man's boot, ripped and torn, was 
picked up more than six hundred yards from the wreck, whither it had 
been blown, no doubt, from the foot of some unhappy victim. A pas- 
senger who had got on the boat at Milton, was taking a drink at the 
bar, and, after paying for it, was returning his purse to his pocket, 
when he was blown into the river and drowned. A lad from Madison 
was on board with his two little sisters ; he was drowned, but the girls 
were saved. A Mr. Claxon, of Carrollton, was on the boat, and was 
blown ashore, but, strange to tell, he did not receive the slightest injury. 

The following are the names of some of the persons killed : — E. Gr. 
Grossman, printer ; E. N. Durbson, of New Philadelphia, Ind. ; Mr. 
Coons ; Rev. Henry A. Scott, (the ^j^oung man whose parents stood on 
the shore and witnessed his death) ; Lewis Berry, of Brownsville, 
Pa., first engineer ; Joseph W. Berry, of same place, second engineer ; 
E. P. Durbin, LaAvrenceburg, Ind. ; M. Smith, Petersburg, Va. ; seven 
cabin boys, names not known. 

Badly Wounded. — Thomas W. Pate, captain ; Sydney Longly 
and Charles M. Jackson, pilots ; Samuel Fritz ; George Breck, second 
cook ; Henry Boezi, six firemen, and four deck hands. 

Slightly Wounded. — Geo. Collard, mate; John Wilson, carpenter ; 
Christman Wilson. 

Twenty bodies, recovered from the water, were too much disfigured 
to be recognized. The boat was so completely shattered by the force 
of the explosion, that she immediately sunk in twenty feet water. 



MAP OP THE 11 1 .— N . 16 




Bethlehem 




.fJS 



■>fOW 



18 MUe Is. 



Grassy Flats 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



225 



The captain was mortally wounded. This accident was thought to 
be the result of criminal negligence, as there was scarcely any water 
in the boiler at the time of the explosion. The engineer had stopped 
that part of the machinery, called the " doctor," which supplies the 
boilers with water, in order to produce " a high head of steam." In 
this he succeeded, and his life was the forfeit of his temerity and the 
recklessness with which he exposed the lives of others to unnecessary 
peril. 



EXPLOSION OF THE LOUISIANA. 

A few minutes after five o'clock, on the evening of November 15, 
1849, the steamboat Louisiana, Captain Cannon, lying at the foot of 
Gravier street, New Orleans, had completed all the preparations for 
her departure for St. Louis. She was laden with a valuable cargo, 
and had on board a large number of passengers. The last bell was 
rung, and the machinery set in motion ; but at the moment the 
boat disengaged herself from the wharf and began to back out into 
the river, all the boilers exploded with a concussion which shook all 




EXPLOSION OF THE STEAMER LOUISIANA. 

the houses for many squares around to their very foundations. The 
Louisiana was lying between two other steamers — the Bostona and 
Storm — the upper works of which were completely wrecked ; their 
chimneys were carried away, and their cabins were shattered to small 
fragments. The violence of the explosion was such, that large pieces 
of the boilers were blown hundreds of yards from the wharf, falling 
on the levee and in different parts of the city. One of these iron 

16 



MAP OP THE OHIO. — NO. 17 



Charleston ^^= ^ 



Mile Is. 




New Albany 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 227 

fragments cut a mule in two, and then struck a horse and dray, killing 
both driver and horse instantly. Another mass of iron, of consider- 
able size, was projected to the corner of Canal and Front streets, two 
hundred yards from the exploded steamer, where it threw down three 
large iron pillars which supported the roof of the portico of a coffee- 
house. Before it reached the iron pillar, this fragment passed through 
several bales of cotton which lay in its passage. 

The tremendous detonation gave notice of the accident to the whole 
city, and soon all the levee near Gravier street was thronged with 
anxious and sympathizing spectators. A number of bodies, in every 
conceivable state of mutilation, had been dragged from the wreck, and 
were surrounded by the immense crowd which had assembled. Hacks 
and furniture cars were sent for, and the wounded were conveyed with 
as much despatch as possible to the hospitals. The sight of the man- 
gled bodies on every side, the groans of the dying, and the shrieks of 
the agonized sufferers, produced a general thrill of horror among the 
multitude. The body of a man was seen, with the head and one leg 
off, and the entrails torn out. A woman, whose long hair lay wet and 
matted" by her side, had one leg off, and her body was shockingly 
mangled. A large man, having his skull mashed in, lay dead on the 
levee ; his face looked as though it had been painted red, having been 
completely flayed by the scalding water. Others of both sexes, crushed, 
scalded, burned, mutilated and dismembered, lay about in every direc- 
tion. Two bodies were found locked together, brought by death into 
a sudden and close embrace. 

But it is utterly impossible to describe all the revolting objects 
which presented themselves to the view of the beholders. Suffice it to 
say, that death was there exhibited in all its most hideous forms ; and 
yet the fate of many who still lived was more shocking and distressing 
than the ghastly and disfigured corpses of those whose sufferings were 
terminated by death. 

A gentleman who was a passenger on the Louisiana, says that he 
was standing on the hurricane deck, abaft the wheel house, at the time 
of the explosion, and though his position was most perilous, he for- 
tunately escaped unhurt. He distinctly saw the faces and arms of 
several ladies and gentlemen who were vainly struggling to free them- 
selves from the falling planks and timbers. They were carried down 
with the boat when she sunk. The steamer went down within ten 
minutes after the explosion ; and it is thought that many citizens who 
went on board to assist the wounded, sunk with the boat. The passen- 
ger mentioned above succeeded in saving a little negro boy. The river 



228. liLOTD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTEKS. 

was covered with fragments of the wreck, to many of which persons who 
had been blown overboard were clinging, and a number of small boats 
Were engaged in taking them up. The confusion was so great that it was 
quite impossible to ascertain the names of one quarter of those who 
were killed ; and as a promiscuous crowd of strangers, emigrants, &c., 
were on board, the greater number of them could not be identified. It 
is generally admitted that this disaster caused a greater loss of life 
than ever took place on the Mississippi, before or since. The most 
authentic accounts make the number of killed one hundred and fifty, 
and some estimates extend the number to two hundred. The mayor 
of New Orleans judged from his own observations and diligent inqui- 
ries on the spot, that one hundred and fifty lives were lost, at the 
lowest calculation. 

The steamer Storm, which lay in close proximity to the Louisiana, was 
almost as completely wrecked as the last-named boat itself, and was driven 
out fifty yards from the wharf by the concussion. Several persons on 
board of the Storm were killed or wounded. The captain himself was 
severely injured, but appeared on deck, his face covered with blood, 
and calmly gave directions for clearing the wreck and bringing his boat 
back to the wharf. 

The fragments of iron, and blocks and splinters of wood, which were 
sent with the rapidity of lightning from the ill-fated Louisiana, carried 
death and destruction in all directions. Persons were killed or wounded 
at the distance of two hundred yards from the boat. There were many 
miraculous escapes. Dr. Testut, of New Orleans, was standing on the 
wharf, having just parted from his friend Dr. Blondine, of Point Cou- 
pee, who had embarked in the Louisiana, and was killed by the explo- 
sion. A fragment of iron struck a man down at Dr. Testut's feet ; the 
poor fellow, while falling, stretched out his hands and convulsively 
grasped the doctor's palletot, tearing a pocket nearly out. His grasp 
was soon relaxed by death. Among the citizens who received severe 
injuries from the flying pieces of the wreck, was Mr. "Wray, a clerk in 
the house of Moses Greenwood & Co., who had been on board of the 
steamer Knoxville, lying below the ferry landing, and was passing up 
at the time. He was struck on the thigh by a piece of wood, and so 
badly wounded that amputation was deemed necessary. Several news- 
boys, who had been selling papers on the Louisiana, and had just gone 
ashore, were killed. 

The bodies of persons who had been in the steamer, were, in some 
instances, blown to the height of two hundred feet in the air, some of 
them falling on the wharf, and some into the river. Legs, arms, and 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 229 

the dismembered trunks of human bodies, were scattered over the levee. 
One man, it is said, -was blown through the pilot house of the steamer 
Bostona, making a hole through the panels, which looked like the 
work of a cannon ball. 

Among those who were killed on board of the Storm, was Mrs. 
Moody, the wife of the first clerk, who was standing on the guard, op- 
posite the ladies' cabin. Twelve or fifteen other persons were killed in 
this boat, and several others were wounded, some of them mortally. 
The Storm had just arrived with passengers from Cincinnati, none of 
whom had been landed. 

As stated above, a considerable number of those who were killed 
were emigrants, and other strangers. These are not included in the 
following list. 

Killed. — Robert Devlin, Baton Rouge ; Capt. E. T. Dustin, of the 
Bostona ; Mr. Gilmer, second mate, and Andrew Bell, pilot, La. ; wife 
and child of Mr. Robert Moody, clerk of the steamer Storm ; Capt. 
Edmonston, St. Louis ; Mr. Roach, deck hand of the Storm ; Mr. Knox, 
head steward of do. ; a cabin boy of do., name unknown ; two firemen 
of do. ; John Sullivan, James Wolf, and a third, name unknown, news- 
boys ; the coachman of St. Charles hotel ; several negroes and deck 
hands of the Bostona ; Dr. Thomas M. Williams, Lafourche ; Dr. Blon- 
dine. Point Coupee ; Robert McMackin, clerk of the Louisiana; J. J. 
Gillespie, Vicksburg ; J. Merring, Cincinnati ; Mr. Wilson, grocer, St. 
Louis ; Mr. Edgar, Washington Co., Miss. ; Sj'lvester Prescott and 
^neas Craft, Memphis ; Mr. King, of the firm of J. J. Grey & Co., 
St. Louis ; Mr. Elliott, clerk of the firm of Marsh & Rowlett, New 
Orleans ; Merrick Morris, clerk of the firm of Small & McGill, New 
Orleans. 

Wounded. — Isaac Hart, New Orleans (supposed to be incurable) ; 
Mr. Ray, clerk of Moses Greenwood & Co., New Orleans ; S. Davis, 
Mobile ; Augustus Fretz, brother of Capt. Fretz, formerly of the 
steamer Memphis ; A. Bird, planter, near Baton Rouge ; Capt. Hop- 
kins, of the Storm ; John Meson, pilot of the Storm ; Mr. Horrell, 
of the firm of Horrell & Gale, Now Orleans ; Mr. Price, clerk of the 
Bostona; chambermaid of do. ; Harvey W. Bickham; Daniel Eckerle; 
Henry Livingston ; Isaac Garrison ; Hugh McKee ; Henry, a slave ; 
Samuel Fox ; William Welch ; Clinton Smith ; Miley Mulley ; a female 
Blave of Moses Murray, and her two children ; John Evans ; William 
Burke ; John Laws ; Charles, a small negro boy ; William Tucker ; 
Henry Tucker ; James Matthews ; Juan Montreal ; William Nee ; 
Sandy, a slave of J. Adams ; Sam, a slave of Captain Cannon ; James 



MAP 



THE OHIO .— N . 




Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 231 

Welch ; James Flynn ; Patrick McCarthy ; twenty or thirty other emi- 
grants, whose names could not be ascertained ; II. Rea, New Orleans ; 
Thomas Harrison, Missouri ; Frederick A. Wood, New Orleans ; Samuel 
Corley, Ky. ; Crocket Harrison, Missouri ; George, a slave, and a negro 
child. 

During the night, thirty bodies, all of strangers, were brought to the 
watch-house of the second municipality. Capt. Cannon, of the Louisi- 
ana, .was on the wharf at the time of the explosion. He had stopped 
for a moment, to speak to an acquaintance, and this delay probably 
saved his life. A lady and her two children escaped from the wreck 
of the boat as it was sinking. 

The effects of this disaster, unexampled in the history of steam navi- 
gation, were visible in every circle of society at New Orleans. Dismay 
was in every countenance, and the whole city seemed to be in mourn- 
ing for the numerous dead ; while every heart was deeply affected with 
sympathy for the surviving friends, and for all who were suffering in 
body or mind from the effects of the dreadful catastrophe. 



COLLAPSE ON THE FRANKLIN, NO. 2. 

This boat collapsed the outside flue of her starboard boiler, August 
22d, 1852, on the Mississippi river, five miles above St. Genevieve. 
Thirty-two persons were killed, or so badly wounded that death in 
every case was the result. Every person on deck who happened to be 
aft of the engine at the time of the accident was scalded to death. None 
of the cabin passengers were injured. 

List of the Killed. — Edward Levins, Galena ; James Jones, Pa. 
M. Waggoner, Greensville, Ky. ; Charles W. Williams, St. Louis ; 
Patrick Murphy, boatman ; P. Joy, St. Louis ; J. Everett, and Mrs. 
Schriner and her son Charles, Louisville, Ky. ; M. J. Steele, Jackson 
Co., Iowa; James Mosley, Floyd Co., Ind. ; John Brown, Platteville 
Mo. ; H. Dunn, fireman ; M. Ilainey ; a fireman, name unknown ; 
George Hardy, third engineer, Louisville, Ky. ; and several others, 
whose names could not be ascertained. 



gistaitus, C^faiis aitir^0phti0n 



THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 





FROM ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, TO 


• 








Miles. 


Pop. 




Miles. 


POP. 


Smith's Landing, HI., 




20 


48 


Vancil's Landing, - 


- 1 


133 


24 


AVidow Waters's Landing, 








Willard's Landing, 


2 


135 


16 


Mo., - - - - 


1 


21 


20 


Bainbridge, - 


- 1 


136 


20 


Sulphur Springs, Mo., 


2 


23 


100 


Clear Creek, 


9 


145 


10 


Rattlesnake Springs, Mo., 


2 


25 


60 


Cape Girardeau, Mo., 


- 5 


150 


3000 


Dunkling'sLime Kiln, Mo. 


3 


28 


42 


Thebes, 111., 


- 10 


160 


80 


Harlow's Landing, 111., 


2 


30 


60 


Walbridge Landing, 


- 5 


165 


40 


Herculaneum. op., Mo., 






100 


Commerce, 111,, op., 


. 




100 


Platin Rock, Mo., - 


2 


32 


80 


Santafee, 111., op.. 


. 




81 


Selma, Mo., 


3 


35 


140 


Thornton's, 


3 


168 


20 


Rushtower, Mo., 


5 


40 


80 


Price's - - - 


. 2 


170 


IS 


John Brickey'f, 111., - 


5 


45 


60 


Lane's, . 


3 


173 


17 


Salt Point, Mo., 


6 


60 


30 


Hunt's, - - - 


- 1 


174 


20 


Fort Cbartre, op., IlL - 






80 


Rodney's 


- 15 


189 


100 


St. Genevieve, Mo., 


10 


60 


2400 


Cairo, 111., 


- 5 


194 


1000 


Kaskaskia, 111., - 


5 


65 


400 


Columbus, Ky., - 


- 26 


220 


200 


St. Mary's, Mo., 


5 


70 


300 


Hickman, Ky., 


- 17 


237 


3000 


Rozier's Landing, Mo,, 


1 


71 


80 


New Madrid, Ky., 


- 38 


275 


500 


Chester, 111., - 


9 


80 


2400 


Memphis, Tenn., 


165 


440 


18,000 


Maynard, III., 


1 


81 


100 


Helena, Ark., 


- 85 


525 


600 


Port Perry, 111., 


1 


82 


30 


Napoleon, Ark., 


100 


625 


1500 


Liberty, 111., 


8 


90 


200 


Columbia, Ark., • 


- 65 


690 


600 


Underbill's Landing, 


5 


95 


20 


Princeton, 


- 60 


740 


300 


Herring's Landing, 


1 


96 


16 


Lake Providence, 


- 25 


765 


1000 


Rally's Landing, 


4 


100 


80 


Vicksburg, Miss., - 


- 75 


840 


6000 


Williinson's, 


5 


105 


30 


Grand Gulf, Miss., 


- 50 


890 


1400 


Linhoop, ... 


1 


106 


40 


Rodney, Miss., 


- 20 


910 


600 


Wittenburg, Mo., 


14 


120 


46 


Natchez, Miss., - 


- 40 


950 


10,000 


Sellers' Landing, 


1 


121 


40 


Mouth of Red River, 


- 65 


1015 


400 


Evans's Landing, 


1 


122 


16 


Bayou Sara, 


- 35 


1050 


1000 


Birmingham, - - - 


6 


128 


38 


Port Hudson, - 


- 12 


1062 


600 


Hines's Landing, 


1 


129 


30 


Baton Rouge, 


- 23 


1085 


6000 


Sheffield, opposite, 






140 


Plaquemine, - 


- 20 


1105 


200 


Preston's Landing, f - 


1 


130 


40 


Donaldsonville, - 


. 35 


1140 


1500 


Bennett's Landing,^- 


1 


, 131 


40 


New Orleans, - 


-78 


1218 


225,000 


Neely's Landing, 


1 


132 


41 


Gulf of Mexico, - 


- 100 


1318 





^hhuttB 011 i\t ||Iiss0uri fvihr. 



Mouth of Missouri River, 
Bellefontaino Bend, 
Jamestown, 

Overall's Wood Yard, - 
Chasbonier, 

St. Charles, - - . 
Howard Bend, 
Boahomme Island, , 
(232) 



FROM ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, TO 



Miles 


Pop. 






MlLFS. 


Pop. 


20 




Cattleville Landing, 


2 


60 


23 


5 25 




Howell's Ferry, 


- 2 


62 


10 


2 27 


50 


Dozier's 


5 


67 


16 


2 29 


20 


Port Royal, - 


- 1 


68 


8 


6 35 


10 


Tavern Rock, 


1 


69 




10 45 


4000 


Mount Albana 


- 1 


70 




12 67 




Steel's Wood Yard, 


2 


72 


S 


1 6S 




Murdock's " 


- 1 


73 


11 



DISTANCES, TOWNS AND POPULATION 



233 



FROM ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, TO 





Miles. 


Pop. 




MllES. 


Pop. 


Augusta, 


3 


76 


100 


Glasgow, 


4 


265 


2000 


Jones' Point, - 


- 2 


78 


4 


Cambridge, 


- 9 


274 


400 


fiouth " 


4 


82 


4 


Keysville Landing, 


- 10 


284 


18 


Basonia, 


- 1 


83 


11 


Buekhorn Point, 


. 8 


292 


8 


Washington, 


1 


84 


400 


Brunswick, - 


8 


300 


2000 


Tuque Point, - 


- 1 


85 




Grand River, - 


- 1 


301 




St. John's Island, 


2 


87 




Windsor City, 


7 


SOS 


80 


Newport Landing, - 


. 2 


89 


16 


Miami, . - - 


- 7 


315 


30 


Patton's Wood Yard, 


I 


90 


7 


Thomas's Wood Yard, 


6 


321 


12 


Heatherley's " 


. 7 


97 


7 


Dill's Landing, 


- 20 


341 


25 


Miller's Landing, 


1 


98 


13 


Waverly, 


5 


346 


700 


Pinckney & Griswold 


s, - 3 


101 


114 


Dover Landing, 


. 13 


359 


26 


Bates' Wood Yard, 


- 10 


111 


17 


Lexington, - 


- 12 


371 


5000 


Hermann, 


- 10 


121 


2000 


Farmvillo Landing, 


. 1 


372 


28 


Mouth of Gasconade, 


8 


129 


30 


Wellington, 


7 


379 


150 


Monning's Landing, 


. 2 


131 


17 


Camden, 


- 10 


3!^9 


600 


Portland, 


. 10 


141 


450 


Napoleon, - 


8 


397 


50 


Fisher's Wood Yard, 


- 5 


1415 


18 


Cogswell's Landing, 


- 5 


402 


20 


St. Aubert, - 


5 


151 


150 


Sibley, 


5 


407 


300 


Smith's Landing, - 


- 1 


152 


28 


Richfield, 


- 14 


421 


100 


Shipley's " 


3 


155 


30 


El Paso Landing, 


8 


429 


16 


King's " . 


- 5 


160 


31 


Blue Mills " 


- 1 


430 


14 


Bennett's " 


2 


162 


45 


Liberty, 


6 


436 


2000 


Mouth of Osage, 


- 2 


164 


48 


Wayne City, - 


- 7 


443 


200 


Mouth of Moreau, 


5 


169 


25 


Randolph, - 


8 


451 


200 


Jefferson City, 


- 5 


174 


4000 


Kansas, - - - 


- 6 


45- 


1000 


Claysville. - 


7 


181 


300 


Kansas River, 


2 


459 




Stanley's Wood Y'ard, 


- 2 


183 


21 


Parkville, 


- 13 


472 


1400 


Marion, 


8 


191 


640 


Little Platte River, 


1 


473 




Eureka Landing, - 


- 5 


196 


26 


Hout's Wood Y'^ard, 


. 6 


479 


12 


Martin's " 


2 


198 


14 


Van Rankin's, 


- 10 


4S() 


46 


Nashville, 


- 7 


205 


180 


Fort Leavenworth, - 


- 10 


4^9 


600 


Providence, 


2 


207 


130 


Platte City Landing, 


3 


5U2 


300 


Mount Vernon, 


- 5 


212 


28 


Weston, . - - 


- 4 


506 


3500 


Rocheport, - 


8 


220 


680 


latan, - - - 


- 13 


519 


100 


Boonville, 


- 12 


232 


3000 


Independence Prairie 


, - 25 


544 


30 


Mouth of Lamina, 


8 


240 


10 


Columbus Landing, 


6 


650 


20 


Arrow Rock, - 


- 8 


248 


450 


Maysville, 


- 6 


556 


60 


Little Arrow Rock, 


7 


255 


40 


Hart's Landing, - 


- 10 


666 


26 


Bluff Port, - 


- 6 


261 


40 


St. Joseph, 


- 25 


691 


6000 



^istaiicts 011 i\t 'Sppr Ulississigpi |vihr. 



FROM ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, TO 





Miles. 


Pop. 




Miles. 


Pop. 


Mouth of Missouri 


River, 


20 




Warsaw, Mo., 


. 20 


207 


4000 


Alton, 111., - 


5 


25 


6000 


Churchville, opposite. 


. 




190 


Grafton, 111., - 


- 18 


43 


200 


Keokuk, 111., - 


- 5 


212 


65(10 


Gap au Gris, 


- 27 


70 


100 


Montrose, - 


- 12 


224 


1000 


Worthington's 


- 10 


80 


50 


Nauvoo, opposite, 


. 




100 


Hamburg, HI., 


- 10 


90 


200 


Fort Madison, 


- 12 


236 


200 


Clarksvillo, Mo., 


. 15 


105 


100 


Pontoosuc, 


- 6 


242 


100 


Louisiana, Mo., - 


- 12 


117 


400 


Dallas, 


2 


244 


180 


Cincinnati, 111., 


- 15 


132 


100 


Burlington, - 


. 15 


259 


8000 


Saverton, 111., 


8 


140 


80 


Oquawka, - 


- 15 


274 


300 


Hannibal, Mo., 


- 7 


147 


6000 


Kethsburgh, - 


- 12 


286 


300 


Marion City, Mo., 


- 10 


157 


300 


New Boston, 


8 


294 


100 


Quincy, 111., - 


- 10 


167 


12,000 


Port Louisa, - 


- 12 


306 


80 


Lagrange, Mo., - 


- 10 


177 


200 


Muscatine, - 


. 18 


324 


8000 


Canton, Mo., - 


- 8 


185 


100 


Rock Island, - 


. 30 


354 


6000 


Tully, Mo., - 


2 


187 


180 


Davenport, opposite. 


- 




5500 



MAP OP THE OHIO , — N . 19 




DISTANCES, TOWNS AND POPULATION. 



235 



FROM ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, TO 



Hampton, 

Leclair, 

Port Byron, opposite, 

Camanche, - 

Albany, - - « 

Fulton City, 

Lyons, oppositOj 

Sebula, 

Savannah, 

Belle Viewi - 

Galena, - - . 

Dubuque, 

Wills's Landing, 

Wapoton, 

Buena Vista, - 

Cassville, 

Gottenburg, - 

Clayton City, 

'Wyolusing, 

McGregor's Landing, 

Prairie du Chiene, - 

Red House Landing, 

Johnson's " 

Columbus, - 

Lansing, 

Winneshiek, 

Victory, 



M 


LES. 


Pop. 


12 


366 


100 


6 


372 


200 
180 


18 


390 


200 


2 


892 


500 


10 


402 


150 

100 


18 


420 


100 


2 


422 


400 


18 


440 


100 


12 


452 


11,000 


25 


477 


10,000 


12 


489 


140 


8 


497 


80 


6 


603 


140 


4 


507 


180 


10 


517 


200 


10 


627 


300 


5 


632 


100 


7 


639 


40 


3 


642 


200 


2 


645 


40 


1 


546 


20 


29 


575 


200 


2 


577 


80 


8 


685 


200 


5 


590 


100 





MiLEY. 


Pop. 


Badaxe, 


1 


591 


20 


Warner's Landing, - 


- 10 


601 


30 


Wild-cat Bluffs, - 


- 12 


613 


14 


Prairie La Crosse, - 


. 16 


629 


140 


Mouth of Black River 


12 


641 


80 


Hammon's Landing, 


. 4 


645 


48 


Fortune's " 


2 


647 


80 


Montoville, 


- 4 


651 


180 


Wenona, 


7 


653 


300 


Wabashaw Prairie-, - 


. 4 


662 


100 


Homes' Landing, 


. 10 


672 


48 


Hall's 


- 10 


682 


100 


Wabashaw Village, 


. 25 


707 


300 


Nelson's Landing, - 


. 2 


709 


80 


Reed's " 


2 


711 


12 


Lake Pepin, - 


- 1 


712 


480 


Wells' Landing, - 


- 14 


726 


80 


Bullard's " - 


. 8 


734 


46 


Red Wing, - 


8 


742 


60 


I'oint Prescott, 


- 22 


764 


85 


Point Douglass, - 


- 1 


765 


40 


Red Rock, 


- 25 


790 


180 


Crow Village, 


3 


793 


300 


St. Paul, 


- 5 


798 


8000 


Falls of St. Anthony, 


8 


806 


4180 


Mendota, 


- 6 


812 


350 


Fort Snelling, 


1 


813 


400 



FROM MOUTH OF LAKE ST. CROIX, TO 







MlLSS. 


Pop. 




Mi 


uw. 


Willow River, 


- 


22 




1 Marine " - 


5 


43 


Still Water, 


. 


8 30 




Osciola '« - - 


- 20 


63 


Areola Mills, - 


- 


- 8 38 




1 Falls of St. Croix, 


- 15 


78 



Pop. 



^hhwtts on tlje Illinois ^vihr. 



FROM ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, TO 





MiLRS. 


Pop. 




Miles. 


Pop. 


Alton, - - - . 




25 


5000 


Bath, - - - . 


12 


167 


100 


Grafton, - - - 


15 


40 


200 


Havana and Point Isabel, 


12 


179 


180 


Mason's Landing, - 


2 


42 


80 


Liverpool, - - - 


10 


189 


160 


Harding, - 


25 


67 


100 


Copperas Creek, 


12 


201 


50 


Columbiana, - . - 


10 


77 


60 


Lancaster, - - - 


8 


209 


30 


Apple Creek, 


4 


81 


40 


Kingston, - - - 


2 


211 


40 


Bridgeport and Bedford, 


12 


93 


1400 


Pekin, . . - 


10 


221 


3000 


Montezuma, 


4 


97 


300 


Wesley City, - 


6 


227 


180 


Florence and Harris's 








Peoria, . - - 


3 


230 


10,000 


Landing, . - . 


6 


103 


200 


Spring Bay, - - . 


14 


244 


80 


Griggsville, 


6 


109 


100 


Rome, ... 


6 


250 


100 


Naples and Perry, - 


4 


113 


3100 


Chillicothe, . 


2 


252 


120 


Moredosia, - - . 


6 


119 


1000 


Lacon, ... 


10 


262 


200 


Lagrange, . . . 


10 


129 


200 


Henry, - - . . 


10 


272 


190 


Beardstown, 


10 


139 


1600 


Hall's Landing, . 


4 


276 


40 


Frederick, - - - 


4 


143 


1800 


Hennepin, - . . 


8 


284 


200 


Browning, - - - 


8 


149 


100 


Peru, . - - . 


13 


302 


4800 


Sharp's Landing, - 


6 


155 


60 


Lasalle, . . . - 


1 


303 


4000 



236 



LANDINGS AND DISTANCES. 



ON WHITE RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES. 



(From Memphis to the Mouth of White River, 175 miles ; from Napoleon to the Mouth of 

White River, 20 miles.) 



FROM MOUTH OF WHITE RIVER TO 



Richards', Landing, 

Hortonbery's, " 

Caroline, 

Lerett's Wood Yard) 

Big Creek, - 

St. Charles, 

Anderson's B1u£f, 

Maddox's Bay, 

Dugan's Bluff, 

Crockett's, 

Turgason's, 

Adams', 

Cascoe, 

Pepper's, 

Moreau's Wood Yard, 

Smith's, 

Maysville, - 

Aberdeen, 

Rock Roe, - 

Widow Hatch's, 

Walnut Ridge, 

Clarendon, 

Sawers', 

Wolf's Wood Yard, - 

Pyburn's Bluff, 

Bunt Bayou, 

Arkapola, - 

Devall's Bluff, 

Surrounded Hill, 

Buena Vista, 

Hidden Bluff, 

Little Hill, 

John Wright's, 

Wattensaw, 

Dr. McFadden's, 

Weaks' 

Jno. Underwood's 

Capt. Taylor's, 

Pittman's 

Des Arc, 

Ferguson's, 

Arch. Hutchins', ' • 

McCartey's, 

Pryer's Wood Yard, 

Smith's, 

Myers' - 

Ferguson's, 

Peach Orchard, » 

Negro Hill, 

Burnt Beach 

Mouth of Red River, 
Gregory's Landing, 
Gray's Bend, 
Augusta, 
Chambers' 
West's, 
Taylor's Bay, 
Wilkerson's, 
Cole's Landing 



Mi 


LES. 








Miles. 


- 


1 


Morse's Camp, 


. 


. 


20 




11 


Lewis Shadder's, 




. 


- 5 


. 


3 


Mill Creek, 


_ 


. 


6 




41 


Grand Glaize, 




. 


. 5 


. 


20 


Dr. Leach's, 


. 


_ 


4 




10 


Carpenter's, 




.« 


- 2 


. 


2 


Bell's, - 


. . 


_ 


3 




9 


Mrs. Husley's, 




- 


- 2 


. 


3 


Village Creek, 


. 


. 


3 




1 


Hunt's, 




. 


- 2 


. 


1 


Mc Jones', 


. 


. 


3 




8 


Mrs. Jones', 




_ 


- 1 


. 


10 


Shon Smith's 


. 


_ 


i 







Eschear's, - 




._ 


- i 


_ 


3 


Love's Wood Yard, 


. 


« 


1 




1 


Newport, - 




. 


. 3 


- 


3 


Elizabeth, 


. 


_ 


2 




4 


Jacksonport, 




^ 


- 7 


. 


2 


Batesville, 


. 


. 


60 




2 


Buffalo City, 




. 


- 112 


- 


2 
6 

7 


Forsyth, 


- 


- 


120 




BLACK 


RIVER. 






10 


FnOM JACKSONPORT TO 




_ 


22 


Powhaton, - 




. 


. 90 




3 


Pocahontas, 


.- 


- 


60 


" 


3 
5 


CURRANT RIVER. 




. 


2 


FROM POCAHONTAS TO 






3 


Doniphan, - 




- 


- 60 


" 


6 

4 


LITTLE RED RIVER. 




, 


2 


FROM MOUTH TO 






2 


Esquire Lindsey's, 




. 


. 1 


-' 


4 


Philip Crise's, 


. 


. 


9 




1 


Goslin's, 




• 


. 2 


- 


2 


Knight's, 


. 


_ 


4 




4 


ISfat. Bowden's, 




. 


- 2 


. 


6 


Harrison Brown's 


. 


. 


4 




4 


Granny Aikin's, 




. 


- 1 


. 


3 


Judge McDaniel's, 


. 


. 


3 




5 


Joseph Wright's, 




. 


- 1 


. 


6 


Mrs. Aikin's, 


. 


. 


1 




4 


John Terry's, 




. 


- 2 


. 


2 


West Point, 


. 


_ 


i 




5 


Kelly's, 




. 


- 1 


. 


7 


Mosier's, 


. 


. 


i 




5 


Kinder and Hutchin's, 


. 


- i 


- 


6 


Mark Young's, 


. 


. 


2 




6 


John Cook's, 




. 


- i 


- 


1 


Kim. Harris's, 


. 


. 


i 




6 


Alex. Crawford's, 




I- 


. 2 


. 


12 


William Lowry's, 


_ 




4 




10 


A. Vanmetre's, 




. 


- 1 


. 


8 


Prospect Bluff, 


. 


. 


2 




4 


T. Young's, 




. 


- i 


. 


1 


Daniel Cook's, 


. 


• 


4 




1 


Col. Prince's, -■ 




_ 


- 4 




2 


Buckley's Gin, 


. 


_ 


2 


- 


5 


Searcy Landing, 




- 


34 



DISTANCES, TOWNS AND POPULATION. 



23' 



Distance 0it \\t ||a^0o ^ihr. 



FROM VICKSBURG TO 



Mouth of Yazoo Riveri 
Druingoole's Bluff, 
Big Sun Flower, 
Satartia, - 

Liverpool, • - 

Yazoo City, 
Tcchula Lake, 



Miles. 

10 

21 31 


Montgomery's Landing, 
Head of the Island, - 


- 29 60 


Sidon. - 


9 69 
- 5 74 


Rising Sun, - 
Greenwood, 


23 102 


Le Flore, - • 


. 62 154 





Milks. 
7 101 



53 


214 


20 


234 


5 


239 


15 


224 



3 257 



^istancts on i\t ^tb |lihr. 



FROM NEW ORLEANS TO 





Mile a. 


Pop. 




Miles. 


Pop. 


Mouth of Red River, 




203 


lUO 


Mouth of Bondicne, - 


- 60 


413 


50 


Mouth of Black River, - 


40 


243 


100 


Clutcherville, 


23 


436 


300 


Gordon's Landing, 


30 


273 


100 


Natchitoches, - 


- 49 


485 


3000 


Fulk's Landing, 


12 


285 


80 


Grand Ecore, - 


10 


495 


500 


Capt. Wilson's Plantation, 


25 


310 


100 


Campti, - • - 


. 15 


610 


200 


Alexandria, - . - 


25 


335 


2500 


Shreveport, - 


. 110 


620 


5000 


Cutile Landing, 


18 


353 


120 


Jefferson, « - - 


- 100 


720 


1800 



istaitcts 0n i\t ©uiidjiln ^lihr. 



Mouth of Black River, 


. 


Trinity, - - - - 


75 


Harrisonburg, - 


- 20 


Columbia, . . . 


75 


Monroe, - - - 


- 75 


Trenton, - - . 


2 


Ouachita City, - 


- 35 


Alabama Landing, - 


18 


Mary Saline Landing, 


. 35 


CareyvUle, - . - 


35 



FROM MOUTE OF OLD RIVER TO 



Pigeon Hills, 
Morobay, j - ■ 
Wilmington, 
Chuinpagnole, . 

Eldorado Landing, 
Miller's Bluff, 
Beach Hills, 
French Port, - 
Ciimdon, - 
Arkadclphia, - 



Miles. 


Pop. 


40 


100 


> 115 


1000 


135 


1000 


210 


300 


285 


600 


287 


300 


322 


500 


340 


300 


375 


;i(io 


410 


200 



Miles. 


Pop. 


6 


416 


150 


li 


417i 


60 


6 


423 


100 


18 


441 


300 


3 


444 


100 


15 


459 


50 


12 


471 


200 


12 


48:^ 


50 


18 


501 


3000 


100 


COl 


500 



MAP OF THE OHIO . — N . 20 , 



Blue River L 



w 




Amsterdam.;; 



Blue River 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



239 



BURNma OF THE CAROLINE. 

The Caroline was a Memphis packet, employed on the White river. 
She had ascended that river about twenty miles on Sunday, March 5, 
1854, when, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the wood pile near the 
boilers, was discovered to be on fire. The pilot at the wheel, Mr. 
John R. Price, steered for the shore, which was overflown by high 
water. Before the shore was reached, some persons attempted to 
escape in the yawl, which, being overcrowded, speedily sunk, and all 




BURNING OP THE CAROLINE. 



who had embarked in it were drowned. The flames, in the meanwhile, 
rapidly overspread the steamer, which was soon consumed, down to the 
level of the water. There were many deck passengers on board, nearly 
all of whom were lost. The principal sufierers were women and chil- 
dren, who were not able to make the exertions required for their pre- 
servation. 

The names of those of the crew and passengers who are known to 
have perished, will be found below : 

List of Killed. — John R. Price and James Creighton, pilots ; 
Lewis Pollock, assistant bar-keeper; eight deck hands and firemen, 
whose names the captain, in his report of the disaster, omittetl to men- 
tion ; wife and child of J. Ilaskins, Marshall county, Tenn. ; four 
children of S. McMullen, of Madison county, Tenn. ; Mrs. Haley and 
three children, Tippah county. Miss. ; John Ilorton, wife, and two 
children, Mr. Karrell, Mr. Martin, Miss Susanna E. Pool, a son of 
Mr. Henshaw, Mr. Shelby, of Madison county, Tenn. ; a son-in-law, 



240 Lloyd's steamboat disastebs. 

a widowed sister, with her thirteen children, and another sister of Mr. 
Wortham ; Mr. Harshaw, of Clarendon, Ark. ; George Jones, clerk of 
the house of Poole & Co., Jacksonport, Tenn., and a number of deck 
passengers, names unknown. 

It is a remarkable circumstance that scarcely any of the crew or 
passengers who escaped with life, were injured in the slightest degree. 
There was considerable amount of money on board. The safe, con- 
taining $5,000, sunk in the river, and never was recovered. Mr. 
Penn, one of the passengers, lost $3,500. The remains of Mr. 
Wilbank, who died a few days before at the Commercial Hotel, Mem- 
phis, were on board on their way to his former place of residence, 
where the funeral was to take place. The body, however, was doomed 
to find a grave beneath the waters of White river. A package of 
money which had belonged to the deceased, and which in his dying 
moments, he had directed to be sent to his widow, was lost with the 
other money in the safe. 

The hull of the Caroline, having burned to the water's edge, broke 
in two, and sunk out of sight. The whole loss of boat, cargo, money, 
and other property belonging to the passengers, is estimated at 
$150,000. There was an insurance on the boat for $5,000. She 
was finished in the preceding summer, and cost $12,000. 



EXPLOSION OP THE ST. JAMES. 

The St. James was a high pressure boat, owned by Capt. W. H. 
Wright. She was built at Cincinnati in 1850, and was employed on 
the Mississippi river until about a month before her destruction, at 
which time she was engaged on Lake Pontchartrain. The accident 
took place on that lake, at Pointe Aux Herbes. The St. James left 
Key St. Louis on Sunday night, July 4th, 1852, in company with the 
steamboat California, having on board a large number of persons who 
had been spending the anniversary of Independence at the watering 
places. Between two and three o'clock, on the morning of the fifth, 
the St. James stopped at the point designated above, fifteen miles from 
the Pontchartrain railway landing, and having taken in several pas- 
sengers, started again on her course. Her companion, the California, 
was at this time a short distance astern ; each boat, probably was en- 
deavoring to outrun the other, and it is conjectured that the ofiicers of 
the St. James, in their eagerness to beat their rival, exposed the lives 
of their passengers to very obvious danger. 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



241 




EXPLOSION OF THB ST. JAMES. 



The St. James had run scarcely two hundred yards from the point 
where she had stopped, when all the boilers exploded, and nearly at 
the same moment, the boat took fire. The staunchions being torn 
away by the explosion, the whole of the boiler deck fell upon the 
boilers and machinery, precipitating a great many persons into the 
lower part of the boat, which was now flooded with scalding water, 
or strewn with the ignited fuel, which had been scattered abroad. 
Owing to this circumstance, a number of passengers who had not been 
injured by the explosion itself, were severely scalded or burned when 
the deck fell in. As the time at which the disaster took place was 
long before dnylfght, many of the passengers were asleep. Some of 
them awoke in eternity, without knowing, perhaps, what cause had 
hurried them thither, and others were aroused from their slumbers by 
a sense of intolerable bodily anguish. Vainly would we attempt to 
picture the scene which now presented itself on the burning steamer. 
The shrieks of the affrighted passengers were heard on board of the 
California, and Captain Ensign, of that steamer, immediately steered 
for the wreck. The space between the two boats was lighted up by 
the conflagration to the brightness of mid-day, and the spectators from 
the California could see the terrified men and women on board of the 
St. James hurrying to and fro, wringing their hands, or seizing on 
such articles as they could use for temporary support, and jumping 
into the lake. The screams were awfully distinct and harrowing, as 
they arose not from the burning boat only, but from the water, in all 
directions, where many human beings were shouting for help, or gasp- 
ing in the last agony. Voices were calling from all points, as the 
boats of the California went about swiftly, picking up all who could 

16 



MAP OF THE OHIO . — N . 21 . 



Wolf Cr. 




Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 243 

be reached. The horrified eyes of the people on the California could 
see men cease to struggle and go down, while those wIk) saw them 
perish had no power to save. It was a scene to harrow the soul of 
humanitj, a scene which could not be remembered without horror, and 
one that could never be forgotten. 

As the California approached the burning wreck, the heat was so 
Tntense that Captain Ensign was compelled by a due regard for the 
persons immediately under his charge, to haul oflf a short distance. 
The boats belonging to the California were launched, manned, and 
sent to the aid of the sufferers. The flames rose from the centre of 
the St. James, and Captain Ensign, while making a second attempt to 
reach the persons on the wreck, succeeded, by nice management, in 
getting under the stern, and a large number of ladies and gentlemen 
from the St. James were thus enabled to reach the deck of the Cali- 
fornia. All who were saved owe the preservation of their lives to 
Captain Ensign. 

Among the passengers who were lost, was Judge Preston, of the 
Supreme Court of Louisiana, and several other distinguished citizens 
of that State. Judge Preston had his berth over the boilers. He was 
seen to retire to rest, and immediately after the explosion, the place 
where he slept was found shattered to pieces, and he was no where to 
be seen. 

J. M. Wolf, Esq., a member of the New Orleans bar, and his son, 
a lad of fourteen, were seen standing together on the wreck. The boy 
was urging his father to jump into the water, declaring that he could 
save him. The father refused, and the boy threw himself overboard 
and swam towards the California, which was then approaching. He 
reached her in an exhausted state, and was saved. A rope was thrown 
to him just as he cried out that he could struggle no more. It is men- 
tioned, as an illustration of this lad's coolness, that he placed his 
clothes on a small piece of plank and floated them with him to the 
California, having an eye to the safety of his wardrobe when his life 
seemed to be in the greatest peril. "When taken on board the Cali- 
fornia, he had his rescued garments under his arm, and dressed him- 
self with the greatest composure. Mr. Wolf, the father of this boy, 
who could not be induced to leave the wreck, Avas lost. 

Captain Clarke, Commander of the St. James, was asleep at the 
time of the explosion. When awakened by tlie terrific report and the, 
commotion on board, he ran on deck, and with the assistance of the 
pilot, Mr. Samuel Henderson, he took possession of the yawl, keeping 
back the crowd which was intent on the same object. Having launched 



MAP OF THE OHIO .— N . 22 . 



Stevensport 

Sinking Cr. 




Rock I. 



Cannelton i 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. £46 

this small boat, Captain Clarke placed in it Mrs. Asher, her daughter, 
(a young lady of sixteen,) and her two younger children ; also Mrs. 
Sheed and Robert Smith, the steersman, who had an arm broken. 
With these persons, the yawl started for the California, but striking 
against that vessel, the little boat upset and all who were in it, except 
Mrs. Sheed were drowned. Mr. H. L. Sheed, the husband of this 
lady, was also one of the passengers of the St. James, and he was 
lost. Captain Clarke's two little sons saved themselves by swimming 
to the California. Captain Clarke himself was badly scalded, and 
Captain "Wright, the owner of the boat, received severe injuries. 

Many of the passengers had not registered their names. The per- 
sons named below are scarcely a moiety of those who perished. 

List of Killed. — Hon. Isaac T. Preston, Judge of the Supreme 
Court of Louisiana ; Mr. Richard Turner, late Commissary of the 
Fourth Ward, Second Municipality, New Orleans; J. M. Wolf, 
member of the New Orleans bar ; John Molley and Nicholas Read, 
of New Orleans ; Mr. Sheed, of the U. S. Branch Mint, of New 
Orleans ; James M. Jones, mate of the St. James ; the watchman of 
do., name not mentioned ; a colored boy, slave of Dr. Penniston, of 
New Orleans ; another slave, belonging to Captain Tuft ; Mrs. Asher 
and her three children ; Mr. Paul, engineer ; John, a colored man, 
second steward of the boat; Robert Smith, steersman; S. Forrester; 
Mr. Gatchet Delislc ; and about twenty others, whose names could not 
be ascertained. 

Wounded. — Captain Wright, owner of the St. James, (badly 
scalded ;) Captain Clarke, Commander of do., burned by a piece of 
blazing timber which fell on his head ; Oliver Rout, second engineer, 
(badly scalded ;) Francis Turner, Assessor of the First District ; Wm. 
Collins, first engineer, (badly burnt ;) Eliza AVilson ; AYm. Deacon, 
(much injured ;) Francois Francis, a passenger, (severely scalded ;) 
Harry Harvey, passenger, (badly scalded ;) J. G. Wheeler ; Robert 
McMillar, deck hand, (scalded and right arm broken ;) Gregory, 
colored boy, and Patrick, a colored man, slaves of Madam Isabel, 
(much hurt ;) George, Bill, Patrick and Julius, firemen, all badly 
scalded. 

Mr. burner, the Assessor, who is mentioned in the list of wounded, 
had risen and dressed himself, and was walking about the cabin, think- 
ing that he had been imprudent in venturing on a lake boat which used 
" high pressure ;" and while his thoughts were thus occupied, the ex- 
plosion took place. His injuries, however, were not of a very serioua 
nature. 



246 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS 



EXPLOSION OF THE AMERICA. 

This afflictive event took place on Lake Erie, July 31, 1850. 
The head of one of the starboard boilers blew off, turning the boiler 
deck upside down, raising the upper deck about four feet, and making 
all the central part of the boat a complete wreck. As soon as the re- 
port was heard, several of the passengers jumped overboard and were 




EXPLOSION OF THE AMERICA. 



not seen afterwards. Many persons were killed or wounded, of whose 
names an imperfect list will be found below. The names of many of 
the passengers were not registered. 

List of Killed. — J. McLaughlin, fireman ; IT. Brown, colored 
waiter, (he was literally torn to pieces by the pitman, a part of the 
steam engine ;) Joseph Stancliff, Durham, Conn. ; James Chancellor ; 
Charles Porter ; P. Welsh, fireman ; Wm. Terry ; M. Hagerty and 
James Chintstar, firemen ; Patrick Kenby, deck hand ; the third en- 
gineer, and several passengers, names unknown. 

Wounded. — W. IL Burnitt, of New York, hands and arms scalded ; 
Jeremiah Connor, wife and five children, of Missouri ; all badly 
scalded ; Wm. Livas, first cook, scalded ; R. Retali^, of Wliitby, 
Canada, do. ; Luther Kinney, of Washington, Macomb county, IMichi- 
gan, do. ; an old Frenchwoman, shoe-dealer of New York, badly 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 247 

scalded ; Archibald Lindsey, steerage passenger, of Michigan, badly 
scalded; J. F. Lalor, L. G. llumsoy and Patrick Howley, (deck 
passenger,) of Cincinnati, slighly scalded ; D. IJ. Terry, Norwalk, 0., 
injured by a fall ; B. Welsh, of Buflfalo, badly scalded ; J. Downing, 
of Albany, N. Y., slightly do. ; Dennis Warren, deck passenger, much 
injured ; Patrick Murphy, deck hand, do. ; Thomas PurccU, fireman, 
do. ; colored cook, name not known, slightly scalded. 

A spectator of this disaster says, " It was a melancholy sight to go 
through the cabin, and see the terrible condition of the wounded. On 
some of them scarcely a particle of skin remained, and the flesh was 
frightfully burned. I have never witnessed anything to be compared 
with this awful catastrophe. One poor woman and all her five chil- 
dren were dreadfully scalded. Their sufferings cannot be imagined. 
The woman was perfectly exhausted with suffering, but seemed to care 
only for her children. One of them, a little girl, tried several times 
to jump overboard. Iler screams were agonizing to all who heard 
them." 



COLLISION OF THE DE SOTO AND BUCKEYE. 

- Between three and four o'clock, on Friday morning, March 1st, 
1844, the steamboats De Soto and Buckeye came in contact on the 
Mississippi, near Atchafalaya. The De Soto was bound down, from 
Nachitoches, and the Buckeye was on her way to Ouachata, with 
about three hundred passengers on board, and a cargo of plantation 
supplies. The concussion was so violent that within five minutes after 
the accident, the Buckeye sunk to her hurricane deck, in twenty feet 
water. The passengers were asleep until awakened by the shock. They 
rushed on deck in the greatest consternation. A terrible commotion 
and confusion was produced by hundreds of people, in the wildest ex- 
citement, seeking their relatives; as many husbands and wives, parents 
and children, were separated by the universal disorder which prevailed 
in the fated vessel. All, or nearly all, were in their night clothes, and 
few were sufiBciently self possessed to take proper means for their own 
safety, or for the safety of those who depended on them for assistance 
and protection. 

A few brave spirits, forgetful of themselves, turned all their atten- 
tion to the preservation of the women and children ; but the boat went 
down so suddenly that few of those helpless beings could be saved. 
Mr. Ilaynes, of Alexandria, La., Avhose family was with him, lost his 



MAP OF THE oirro .— N . 23 



Lewisport 




Rockport -'■i^ 



Lloyd's steameoat disasters. 249 

daughter, a beautiful little girl, about ten years old. His -wife's 
sister, Miss Elizabeth Smith, an accomplished young lady, was like- 
wise drowned. Mr. Ilaynes also lost sixteen slaves ^Yho were on 
the lower deck. Mr. Alexander McKinzie, formerly of Florida, lost 
his wife, seven children, and four slaves. Mr. John Blunt, who was also 
from Florida, lost his wife, child, and seven negroes. Col. King, of 
Louisiana, (afterwards Vice President of the United States,) lost two 
children. A young man named Pollard, supposed to be from Natchez, 
had a considerable sum of money deposited for safe-keeping in the 
clerk's office. When the boat was sinking he applied for his money ; 
it was delivered to him, and he was not seen afterwards. A child of 
Mr. "White, of New Orleans, was lost. Two sisters of a young man 
named Francis Larkin were drowned. Mr. Larkin and these young 
ladies had been taken on board at Red river landing. Mr. Beard, one 
of the unfortunate passengers of the Buck-eye, attempted to swim 
ashore with his young nephew on his back ; but in the attempt both 
were drowned. . The whole number who perished could not have been 
less than eighty. The night was clear, and the moon shed a brilliant 
light on the water, and to this happy circumstance the preservation 
of many lives may be ascribed. The De Soto remained by the wreck 
to the last, and the officers of that boat exerted themselves to the ut- 
most in saving the lives and property of the Buck-eye's passengers. 
The mate of the De Soto rescued about forty persons from the water 
by taking them up into the yawl, conveying as many as the little boat 
could carry to the steamer, and then returning for more. 

The surviving passengers of the Buckeye published a certificate 
exculpating the Captain and other officers of that boat, and ascribing 
the mischance to a combination of unfortunate circumstances which no 
precaution or foresight could have averted. 



BURNING OF THE E. K. COLLINS. 

Between ten and eleven o'clock, on the night of October 9, 1854, 
the steamboat E. K. Collins was burned to the water's edge on Lake 
Erie, nearly opposite the light house below Mauldin. At the time the 
fire broke out, she was on her way from Sault St. Marie to Cleveland. 
Before she could be run on shore, she was completely enveloped in 
flames. Twenty-three of the passengers and crew were cither drowned 
or burned to death. The fire broke out on the boiler deck, and spread 
BO rapidly that the passengers and crew, most of whom were in bed, 



250 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

had not time to dress themselves, before thej ran on deck to seek the 
means of escape. As soon as the boat had reached shallow water she 
became unmanagable, and while the head was embedded in the sand 
the stern projected over the deep water, and all who happened to be 
abaft the machinery were reduced to the necessity of throwing them- 
selves overboard, or remaining in the boat with the certainty of perish- 
ing in the flames. Had it not been for the timely arrival of the pro- 
peller Finertz, scarcely any would have been saved. The current set 
strongly from the shore, so that several men who attempted to save 
themselves by swimming were carried back and drowned. The Cap- 
tain of the Finertz, seeing the light, hastened to the wreck, and had 
all his boats ready for service by the time of his arrival. Nearly 
all who were saved owe their preservation to the prompt assistance 
rendered by this vessel. As a surprising example of human depravity, 
it is mentioned that some wretch, in the very height of the consterna- 
tion on board, stole eighty dollars, the hard earnings of a poor invalid, 
who had been working at Sault St. Marie, until his declining health 
obliged him to return to his family, at Cleveland. A purse of twenty 
dollars was contributed by the passengers for the relief of the unfor- 
tunate man who had been victimized by this atrocious and inhuman 
robbery. 

Names of those wno PEuisnED by this Disaster. — Mrs. Dibble; 
Samuel Powell ; Lawrence Whalom ; Thomas Cook ; Mrs. McNailly ; 
Mrs. Watrums and child ; a colored man from Virginia, name un- 
known ; Charles Adams ; John McNeely ; John Ennis ; P. Tinker ; 
John Ha.lstead ; Mr. Lyman ; Mrs. F. Lewis ; Samuel Brown ; A. 
Alwick ; Thomas Anderson ; J. A. Grinnan ; James Grimmet ; Na- 
thanial Ptobins, and one of the pilots, name not mentioned. 



EXPLOSION OF THE KxVTE KEARNEY. 

One of the boilers of this boat exploded at St. Louis, on Thursday, 
February 14th, 1854. The Kate Kearney was about to start from the 
wharf and the last bell had just ceased ringing, when in a single mo- 
ment the greater part of the boat was changed to a confused heap of 
ruins. There were fifty or sixty passengers on board, and the names 
of many, (as usual,) were not registered. It is quite certain that several 
persons, whose names were never ascertained, were blown overboard 
and lost. Fifteen persons, badly wounded, were taken to the Sister's 
Hospital, St. Louis ; of these, several died within a few hours, namely : 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 251 

the Rev. S. J. Gassaway, rector of St. George's church, St. Louis, F. 
Hardy, second engineer of the Kate Kearney, D. Kcefer, a deck hand, 
and two colored men. 

Among the wounded ■were Brevet Major D. C. Buel, of the United 
States army, Major R. C. Catlin, of the seventh, U. S. infantry, a son 
of that gentleman, and several other persons from Illinois and Missouri. 
Three persons, "whose names are not mentioned, ■were seen to sink in 
the river. 

Major Buel, one of the -^'ounded passengers, gives the following ac- 
count of his providential escape from a horrible death. lie was over- 
whelmed among falling timbers and rubbish, from which, with great 
exertion, he extricated himself after the lapse of a few minutes. As 
soon as he felt himself at liberty he heard the alarm of fire ; and 
althougli he had received several painful wounds, he united with others 
in an attempt to extinguish the flames. He continued in this active 
service until relieved by the arrival of the fire companies. He then 
went ashore, took a carriage, and drove to the Planter's House. It 
was only on his arrival there that he began to realize the serious na- 
ture of the injuries he had sustained, and from the cft'ects of which ho 
did not recover for several weeks. 

The Kate Kearney was an old boat, having been engaged for eight 
or ten 3'cars in the packet trade between St. Louis and Keokuk. 
About three years previous, the same boiler which caused the disaster 
just related, collapsed at Canton, on the upper Mississippi, killing and 
scalding a large number of persons. The collapsed flues were taken 
out and new ones were substituted, but the shell of the old boiler remained. 
The boat was adjudged to be unfit for service several months before the ex- 
plosion at St. Louis. She Avas withdrawn from the Keokuk trade, but 
as both the Alton packets had sunk, the Kate Kearney was chartered 
to do their duty ; in Avhich service she was engaged at the time of the 
explosion. 



BURNING OF THE BELLE OF THE WEST. 

The Belle of the "West was burned to the water's edge, near Florence 
island, on the Ohio river, April 22d, 1850. Only an imperfect 
report of this disaster has been preserved. 

List of the Killed. — Jeremiah Bamberger ; John Anders and 
•wife; Frederick Bretz, wife and three children; (two children belong- 
ing to this family were saved ;) Mr. Keller, wife and three children ; 
a lady, name unknown ; a,man, wife and six children, names unknown ; 



252 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

three children of Mr. Waggoner ; two German deck passengers ; and a 
family, consisting of two men, two women, and four children. 

Wounded. — John Bamberger ; Levi Yerdz ; Miss Yerdz ; and three 
or four others, names unknown. 

A brave little boy, twelve years old, leaped into the river, and while 
swimming to the shore, saw his mother on board, overburdened with 
two small children, and trying to make her escape. He made her un- 
derstand by gestures, that he wished her to throw one of the children 
into the water. She did so, and he swam with it to the shore. The 
mother escaped with the otfier child, and thus the whole family was 
saved. Several other families were less fortunate. A Mr. Waggoner, 
one of the passengers, was accompanied by his wi.fe and eight children. 
Three of the children were drowned. Mr. Waggoner was emigrating 
to Iowa, having with him money, with which he intended to purchase 
land ; but every dollar of it was lost. Alaout fifty German Moravians, 
some of them with families, were on board. Many of these people 
perished in the flames, or in the water. 



EXPLOSION OF THE VIRGINIA. 

On Saturday, March 31, 1849, at 5 o'clock, P. M., the steamer Vir- 
ginia, plying as a daily packet between Wheeling, Va., and Steubenville, 
Ohio, was torn into pieces and sunk by the explosion of her boilers, at 
Rush Creek, ten miles above Wheeling. Eight or ten lives were lost, and 
about fourteen persons were wounded. The explosion took place when 
the boat was about to land a passenger, !Mr. Roe, who was killed. As 
almost the whole of the upper part of the boat was reduced to frag- 
ments, and the hull sunk immediately, there can be no doubt that all 
of the crew and passengers who were missing, perished in the wreck. 

List of Killed. — Mr. Roe, Rush Creek ; the chambermaid of the 
boat ; William Ebert, Wheeling, Va. ; a colored fireman, and eight or 
ten others, names unknown. 

Badly Wounded. — Mr. Boles and lady, Steubenville, Ohio ; Mr. 
Collins, the pilot, one leg broken and otherwise badly injured ; Henry 
Commons, Birmingham, Alleghany county. Pa.; John Taylor, first engi- 
neer, Wheeling, Va. ; W. Barker, St, Louis ; W. Althousc, Wheeling; 
the carpenter of the boat ; James Zink, a boy, and A. Snyder, (both 
legs torn off,) Wheeling; and Mr. Atchison, Steubenville, 

Sligutly Wounded. — Mrs. E. Coen, Wheeling; Capt, Dawson, 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 263 

Riclietown ; Mr. Beaty, Steubenville ; and Mr. Burgess and lady, 
West Springfield, 111. 

Mr. Hoe, the passenger who was going on shore at the time of the 
explosion, was on the plank, and was cut in three pieces bj fragments 
of the boiler. 



EXPLOSION OF THE ZACHARY TAYLOR. 

This was an old boat employed in the transportation of hogs from 
Lawrenceburg to Cincinnati. On the 21st of December, 1853, she 
was towing two barges laden with hogs, and there were about three 
hundred of the same kind of animals on the deck of the steamer, 
abaft the engine. About day break, on the day aforesaid, when the 
boat was within ten miles of Cincinnati, one of the flues of the lar- 
board boiler collapsed, projecting columns of steam and scalding 
■water fore and aft, killing three of the boat's crew instantly, and 
scalding five others. The three men who were killed were lying asleep 
in front of the fire. 

The first engineer, Moses Smith, was scalded in the face. The 
second engineer, John Everhart, was more seriously injured. Cap- 
tain Prettyman had passed by tho boiler a moment before the col- 
lapse. The hot water thrown back among the swine scalded many of 
them so severely that they jumped overboard. 

There were thirty-five passengers on board, not one of whom was 
hurt. One of the deck hands who were killed was named Boyle ; the 
names of the other two are not given. 




(254) 



SKETCH OF NEW ORLEANS. 



This great commercial emporium of the South and West is situated on the south bank of the 
Mississippi river, about 100 miles from its mouth, 1G03 miles south-west of New York, 1438 
miles south-west of Washington, 2025 miles south south-west of Pittsburgh, and 2000 miles 
south by east of the Falls of St. Anthony ; lat. 29° 58' N., long. 90° 7' W. New Orleans is tho 
seat of justice of Orleans Parish, La. It is built around a bend of the river, and from this 
circumstance it has acquired the sobriquet of the " Crescent City." The location of New 
Orleans is on a piece of land which inclines gently from tberiver to the marshy grounds in tho 
rear of the city. The site is from two to five feet below tho level of the river in the time of 
high water. To protect the city against inundations, an embankment, or lovec, fifteen feet 
wide and six feet high, has been raised; it extends one hundred and twenty miles above the 
ci:y, and to Port Pluqucmine, forty three miles below it. This levee afi'ords the citizens of 
Now Orleans a delightful promenade, worthy of comparison with tho boulevards of Paris. 

The change iu the course of the river at New Orleans causes vast alluvial deposits, particu- 
larly at that point where the commerce of the city chiefly centres. Hero it has been found 
necessary to erect quays, extending from fifty to one hundred feet in the river. In consequence 
of the new alluvial formations at this point, the levee has been widened and an additional row 
of warehouses has been erected between the city and the river. Tho city was originallj' laid 
out by the French in an oblong, rectangular shape, 1320 yards in length, and 700 yards in 
breadth. Above this are the faubourgs of St. Mary, Annunciation, and La Course ; below, are 
Marigny, Donnois, and Declouet ; and in the rear, are Trcme, and St. Johns. The suburbs, 
together with tbe village of Lafayette, which was formerly under a separate municipal govern- 
ment, are now incorporated with the city proper. In tho year 1836, New Orleans was divided, 
by legislative enactment, into three municipalities, each with distinct municipal powers ; but 
in 1852 this division was abrogated, and the faubourgs, the village of Lafayette, and all tho 
other dependencies, extending about seven miles along the river, were consolidated under ono 
charter, and ono city government. 

Algiers, which may be regarded as one of the suburbs of New Orleans, is a flourishing 
village, situated on the opposite side of tho river, and is connected with tho city by a ferry. 
It has several ship-yards and extensive manufacturing establishments. 

New Orleans was settled by the French in 1717. The name was applied as a compliment 
to the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France, during the minority of Louis XV. In 1723, Charle- 
voix visited tho place, and found about two hundred inhabitants, living chieQy in huts or 
cabins built without any orderly arrangement. There was a wooden warehouse and another 
wretched building which had been intended for a store, but was used as a chapel. In the 
fame year, some German emigrants, after whom the " German coast" is named, arrived at this 
location, having changed their original intention to make a settlement in Arkansas. A memo- 
rablo hurricane visited the place in this year, and destroyed nearly all tho buildings. In 1727 
the Jesuits and Ursuline nuns arrived ; tho former remained until the expulsion of their order 
from France, Spain, and Naples, in 1763, compelled them to leave Louisiaii:u Their entire 
property in this region was confiscated ; their lands, which were then .sold by tho French 
government for $186,000, are now worth not less than ?20,000,000. In 1730 two buildings which 
still remain on the upper side of tho Cathedral were erected. The first visitation of tho yellow 
fever occurred in 1709, being introduced, as it is said, by an English vessel, with a cargo of 

(265) 



MAP OF THE OHIO , — X . 24 . 



5^ Owensboro 



Enterprise 




SKETCH OF NEW ORLEANS. 257 

flavM from Africa. Four years before this time, the first Rritish vessels vijiled this plnce, or 
rather came to anchor at Lafayette, where they traded with the planters and natives. In 1769 
the colony was ceded to Spain, the population of the whole province being then 5,556 whites, 
and nearly as many blacks. In 1770 the river Wiw frozen for several yards on both sides. In 
1782 permission was obtained for the building of a custom-house. In 1785 the Americans of th« 
We.'t, and of Philadelphia began to trade with New Orleans. In 17SS nine hundred houses were 
destroyed by fire, which broke out on Good Friday, in a chapel on Chartres street. In 1789 
many Americans settled in the neighborhood. In 1791 the first company of French comedians 
arrived. In 1792 the Baron Carondolet became governor of the provinco. He divided tbo 
city into four wards, established a night-watch, and lighted the streets. To defray the expenses 
of those improvements, a tax of $1.12i was levied on each chimney. He erected several fortifi- 
cations also, placing a fort where the mint now stands, another at the foot of Canal street, a re- 
doubt in Rampart street, <tc. Military training commenced this year. Five volunteer companies 
were formed, each company containing one hundred men. In 1794 the first newspaper, called 
the ilonitcur, was printed. Much property in the city was destroyed in this year by fire, and 
by a hurricane. In ISO 1 Louisiana was coded back to Franco. In 180.3 the province was 
ceded to the United States by Napoleon. The city was incorporated in 1804. The population 
of the city was trebled within the first seven years after the Americans took possession of it. 
In 1812 the first steamboat, the New Orleans, arrived from Pittsburgh. January 8tb, .1815, 
Gen. Packenham, commanding the English forces, made an attack on the city, but was signally 
defeated by the Americans under Gen. Jackson. The loss of the English, in killed and 
wounded, was nearly three thousand ; the Americans had only seven men killed, and six 
wounded. In 1816 the levee gave way, nine miles above the city. The inundation did im- 
mense damage. In 1823 J. H. Caldwell was laughed at as a madman, for building the Camp 
Street theatre. It was quite out of town, and was accessible only by gunwales instead of pave- 
ments. From this date to the present time, the improvements have been so rapid, and are 
so much within the recollection of our readers, that it is unnecessary to mention them specifi- 
cally. We will now glance at New Orleans as it is at the present day. 

The streets of this city are sufficiently spacious, and for the most part, intersect each other 
at right angles. Canal street, which is the widest in the city, is 190J feet in breadth. In the 
centre of this street is a grass plat 25 feet wide. The houses are generally constructed of 
brick, and those in the principal business locations are often EL'S or seven stories high. 
There are many splendid dwellings, especially on the outskirts of the city. The houses havo 
commodious basements, but no cellars, on account of the marshy nature of the ground. There 
are several handsome public squares in various parts of the city. Jackson Square, formerly 
called Place d'Armes, occupies the centre of the river front of the old town plot ; it is orna- 
mented with shell walks, shrubbery, statuettes, <fce., and is a favorite place of resort. La- 
fayette Square, in the Second District, is find}' laid out and adorned with a profusion of shade 
trees. Congo Square, in the rear of the city, is also a handsome enclosure. 

New Orleans has a number of superb public buildings. The Custom House is a magnificent 
structure, and with the single exception of the Capitol at Washington, it is the largest build- 
ing in the United States. Its dimensions are: — front on Canal street, 334 feet; on Custom 
House street, 252 feet; on New Levee s-treet, 310 feet; and on Old Levee street, 297 feet ; 
height 82 feet It covers an area of 87,333 superficial feet. The United States Branch Mint 
is at the corner of Esplanade and New Levee street. It is an extensive building, 282 feet 
long, 108 feet deep, and three stories high. It has two wings, each 81 feet by 29. The Mu- 
nicipal Hall, at the comer of St Charles and Hevia streets, is a beautiful marble edifice in 
the Grecian style of architecture. The Odd Fellows' Hall and the Merchants' Exchange are 
large and elegant buildings. 

Many of the churches are spacious und beautiful buildings. There are 35 churches in the 
city — 12 Roman Catholic, 7 Episcopal, 6 Presbyterian, 5 Methodist, 3 Lutheran, 2 Baptist lod 
3 Jewish Synagogues. 

New Orleans has many benevolent Institutions. The Charity Hospital is a magnificent edi- 
fice. The United Statei Naval Hospitul is also a noble building. StoncV Hospital and the 
17 



258 S K E T C H r K E W R L E A N S. 

Franklin Infirmary are likewise fine structures. The Literary and Educational Institutions 
are very numerous. Among theise, we may mention the University of Louisiana, organized in 
1S49 : it comprises a Law School and a flourishing Medical College. 

The public journals of New Orleans are celebrated for superior ability. More than twenty 
newspapers are published in the city, among which, ten or twelve are dailies. Several of them 
are printed in the French language. There are also several periodicals specially devoted to 
literary and scientific objectfe. 

There are eight banks in New Orleans, with an aggregate circulation of S8,127,S-tf! ; de- 
posits, $12,077,7fi7. Cash assets: — specie, $8,195,295; loans and deposits, $17,409,767; 
foreign and domestic exchange, $3,857,012. The assessed value of real and personal pro- 
property in New Orleans for 1852, amounted to $70,194,9.'!0. 
V "With respect to commerce. New Orleans possesses unrivalled advantages, especially for in- 
ternal trade. This city is the grand emporium for the trade of the Mississippi and its tribu- 
taries, embracing 15,000 miles of navigable waters, and communicating with a vast extent of 
country of inexhaustible fertility and boundless resources. The levee of this city constantly 
presents an appearance of business activity which has scarcely a parallel in any other com- 
mercial city of the world. The steamboat trade is stupendous. The foreign and coivstwise 
arrivals at New Orleans, for the year ending December 31, 1853, were : — ships, 782; barques, 
447; brigs, 295; schooners, 596; steamships, 244; steaniboata, 3,253; — total, 5,617. The 
shipping of the district, at the above mentioned date, amounted to 81,500 tons registered, and 
184,512 tons enrolled and licensed ; — total, 266,013 tons. The exports of cotton for the year 
ending August 31, 1852, were 772,242 bales to Great Britain ; 196,254 to France ; 75,950 to 
the North of Europe; 134,657 to the South of Europe and China; 128,629 to Boston; 101,933 
to New York ; 15.594 to Philadelphia, and 15,041 to other places in the United States. The 
other principal exports are flour, bacon, lard, grain, tobacco and sugar. 

In addition to the several railroads communicating with various points in the State, are tvro 
extensive lines which are now nearly or quite completed — one called the New Orleans, Ope- 
lousas and Great Western Railroad — extending through Louisiana into Central Texas ; and 
the other, the New Orleani?, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad — designed to connect with 
the railway system of Tennessee, and of the Northwestern States. A charter has also been 
granted and a company organized for constructing a road to communicate with Mobile, through 
the Pontchartrain Railroad. In all these works, New Orleans has a primary and paramount 
interest. 

In the year 1834, gas-light was introduced into the city, and machinery was constructed for 
supplying the inhabitants with water from the Mississippi. It is raised by steam-power to an 
elevated reservoir, whence more than 5,000,000 gallons are daily distributed to various parts 
oi the city. 

The cemeteries of New Orleans are a remarkable "feature" of the place. The burial of the 
dead is here managed on an unique plan : the bodies being not deposited underground, but 
above it. This method of interment is adopted on account of the damp constitution of the 
soil, which makes it impossible to dig a grave which will be free from the intrusion of water. 
The tombs arc built from one to three stories high, and the cofiins are deposited lengthwise 
in niches or cavities of a suitable size. 

Owing to various sanitary measures adopted by the citizens, the health of this city has been 
much improved within a few years past, and the principal obstacle to the growth of the place, 
viz. : its supposed insalubrity, has thus been, in a considerable degree, removed. 

Population of New Orleans 225,000. 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 259 



BURNING OF THE GEORGIA. 

On Saturday night, January 28, 1854, the steamboat Georgia was 
burnt on Alabama river, between "^Montgomery and Mobile. She had 
two hundred and thirty passengers on board, thirty or forty of whom 
are believed to have perished. When the fire was discovered, the boatf 
was run ashore as speedily as possible. The scene which followed was 
one of indescribable confusion. One who saw it declares that women 
and chil(b-en were "pitched on to the shore like logs of wood;" the 
necessity of getting them out of the burning boat with the greatest 
despatch seemed to require such rough and unceremonious handling. 
Several who were thus thrown out of the boat fell into the water and 
were drowned, and others struck the ground with such violence as to 
cause serious injuries. Mr. Jackson, of Barbour county, Ala., and 
one of his children, were lost. His widow and eight survivinG; chil- 
dren, who were on board with him, were left at Mobile, in destitute 
circumstances. Mr. Jackson had on his person checks or drafts to a 
considerable amount, which were also lost. Mr. Jolley and his family, 
of Randolph county, Georgia, were on the boat. The Avife of this 
gentleman and one of his children were droAvned. lie lost besides, 
$900 in specie, and was left penniless. B. F. Lofton, of Lenoir 
county, N. C, lost two slaves. Rev. J. M. Carter, of Clinton, Ga., 
lost three negroes. His wife was badly burned. Dr. J. M. Young, 
of Hancock, Ga., lost a valuable slave, all his medical books, surgical 
instruments, and everything, in short, except the clothing which he 
wore at the time of the disaster. Mrs. Davidson, from Macon county, 
Ala., lost several negroes. Mr. Graham, from Williamsburg, S. C., 
lost two negroes and $500 in gold. Thos. J. McLanathan, of Bristol, 
Conn., was drowned. A gentleman from Stewart county, Ga., lost 
several slaves. A woman who fell or leaped from the cabin floor to 
the main deck was caught on the horns of an infuriated ox, and 
thereby received several severe wounds, but the animal threw her into 
the water and she was saved. A father, who had rescued his wife and 
six children, went back into the blazing wreck, hoping to save the 
seventh, but lost his own life. A young man who had escaped to the 
shore, returned to the boat to bring away his sister, but he was seen 
to fall into the blazing hull, from which he never emerged. Another 
man saved three of his children, but his wife and six other children 
were consumed on this funeral pyre. A young man, who had lost hia 



MAP OP THE OHIQ . — N . 25 . 




3 Diamond 1. 



Lloyd's steamboat lisasters. 261 

wife in the wreck, sat on the wharf to all appearance an indifferent 
spectator of the frightful scene. It appeared afterwards that his 
grief had reduced hiin to melancholy madness, or idiotic apathy. 
Another young man who had seen his father and mother perish in the 
boat, loudly lamented the loss of SljOOO which the old gentleman had 
deposited in the safe. This bereavement seemed to be the only one 
which occupied his thoughts. W. B. Rhenn, of Newborn, N. C, saved 
himself, his wife, and his five children, but lost nine slaves. 

Of the forty persons who perished in this conflagration, twenty-two 
were negroes belonging to the cabin passengers, and more than half 
of the others were children. From the moment the flames broke out 
until the fate of each person on board, for life or death, was decided, 
only three minutes elapsed ; so quick was the work of destruction. 
Nearly all of the passengers were dressed, only two or three having 
retired to their berths. It was a fortunate circumstance that so many 
of the passengers were awake, otherwise the loss of life would have 
been still greater. Some were kept up by a desire to see the various 
landing places, and others were listening to the music of a violin 
which a young man was playing in the cabin. 



BURNING OF THE G. P. GRIFFITH. 

The fine steamer G. P. Griffith took fire on Lake Erie, about twenty 
miles below Cleveland, and was burnt to the water's edge, on June 17, 
1850. The passengers were all in their berths when the alarm of fire 
was given, about three o'clock in the morning. The day had just 
begun to dawn, and the shore was in sight. At first very little alarm 
was felt on board, as the boat was rapidly approaching the shore, to 
which her head had been directed. But alas ! the prospect of speedy 
deliverance soon vanished, and every heart was chilled with terror 
when the steamer, while yet half a mile from land, struck on a sand- 
bar and became immovable. 

"Then rose from sea to sky the wild farewell, 
Then shrieked the timid, and stood 6till the brave." 

Many of the passengers then plunged madly into the lake, and few of 
these were saved. The scene on the burning vessel is represented as 
one which would have agonized any spectator who had no personal in- 
terest in the event. What must it have been to those whose lives, and 
lives even dearer than their own, were subject to the contingencies of 




Brown's I. 



Raleigh 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters 



201 



a moment ? The consternation of all on bqard may be estimated from 
the fact that scarcely any of the survivors were able to give a lucid ac- 
count of the catastrophe. There were three hundred and twenty-six 




BURNING or THE G. P. GniFFITH. 



persons on the boat ; of these, only about thirty, who were able to swim 
ashore, were saved. Every child perished, and every woman except 
one. the wife of the barber. One of the passengers, a Mr. Parkes, had 
secured a piece of the wreck, Avhich was barely sufficient to support 
him on the surface, and he was reduced to the horrible necessity of 
pushing others away when they attempted to sustain themselves on the 
same fragment. He saw scores of people sinking around him, and 
heard many a voice exclaiming in piteous accents, " Save me ! save 
me !" But who can be humane at such a momeift? Who can feel pity 
for others, when his own life is exposed to the most imminent peril ? 
Mr. Parkes says, that for a moment he felt like "giving up," and 
dying with his fellow passengers. But the instinct of self preservation 
was too strong for the emotions of sympathy. Soon he found himself 
almost solitary on the bosom of the lake. Most of the struggling 
people had disappeared, their wild supplications for aid had ceased 
and nothing was heard except the sullen sound of the waters as they 
beat against the charred hull of the steamer. 

One of the passengers gives the following account of his escape. He 
was aroused from his slumber by the cries of fire and the screams of 
women and children. When he reached the deck he found that the 
boat was about three miles from land. The second mate gave orders 
for the boat to be steered towards the shore. She reached the bar 
half a mile from land, before the flames had made much progress ; 
but as soon as the steamer grounded on that bar, the fire spread with 
appalling rapidity. One of the officers directed the passengers to save 



MAP a F THE II I . — N . 27 . 
Sliawaneetown jl!:;^^ 



Cave-in Rock Ui 




Cave-in Rock 1 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 265 

themselves, but did not point out any means of escape. Many of the 
passengers threw themselves overboard. The narrator says they 
leaped out of the boat in crowds, twenty at a time. The Captain 
remained on the upper deck, near his state room, forward of the wheel- 
house. When nearly all the passengers had jumped overboard to es- 
cape from the flames, the Captain threw his mother, his wife and child, 
and the barber's wife into the lake, and then plunged in himself. He 
remained a moment on the surface with his wife in his arms, and then 
both sunk together. The passenger who tells this story saved himself 
on a small piece of plank, supported by which he contrived to reach 
the shore. 

The books of the boat were lost, therefore the names of very few of 
the victims can be given. But it is known that the loss of life 
was greater than in any previous disaster on the lake, except only 
in the case of the steamer Erie. One hundred and fifty-four dead 
bodies were recovered, and probably from thirty to fifty more remained 
at the bottom of the lake. The scene on the shore, after the awful 
tragedy was finished, -was melancholy in the extreme. One hundred 
and fifty dead bodies were strewn along the beach. Boats had been 
employed in dragging for them at the spot where the wreck lay. A long 
trench was dug on the shore, and here the greater number of the dead 
were interred, unshrouded and uncoffined, and many of them unknown. 

List of Killed. — William Daley ; Capt. C. C. Roby, wife, mother 
and two children ; Mrs. Wilkinson ; Horace Palmer ; Richard Palmer ; 
Charles Brown ; Theodore Oilman ; Richard Mann ; W. P. Tinkham 
and his two children ; Daniel, a colored waiter ; Hugh McLair; George 
Wilmcn ; P. Keeler ; Mrs. Heth and Francis Heth and their four chil- 
dren ; M. June ; W. Tillman ; A Ferguson; J. R. Manson ; Thomas 
Wild ; an unknown man, on whose person was found one thousand one hun- 
dred and sixty dollars; J. Marsh; another stranger, whose clothes were 
marked with the initials F. P. ; Francis Huilc ; a great many English, 
Irish, and German emigrants, of whom only one, Robert Hall, was 
saved. Mr. Hall lost his wife and four children, his mother, two sis- 
ters and two brothers. Mrs. Walker and child; Selina Moony; and 
others not identified. 

Henry Wilkinson, the clerk of the Griffith, swam ashore by support- 
ing his chin on a piece of firewood. When about to leave the wreck, 
he first threw his mother and little niece overboard, and endeavored 
to save them, but was unable to do so, being nearly drowned in the at- 
tempt. 




(266) 



FLOODS OR FRESHETS ON THE WESTERN RIVERS. 



Only those persons who have witnessed the devastation of a western flood can form any 
idea of the terrific nature of such a disaster. Sometimes the whole country, as far as eye can 
reach, is under water; while the strength of the current sweeps everything before it In the 
year 1786, the Ohio river rose fifty-nine feet above low-water mark. As the surrounding 
country was but sparsely' inhabited at that time, the damage done by this flood was compa- 
ratively trivial. In 1792 the Ohio rose 63 feet above low-water mark — four feet higher than 
the*flood of 1786. 

On the 11th of November, ISIO, there was a great flood at Pittsburg. A brig which had 
been built at Plumb Creek, near that city, and which was ready to be launched, was floated 
off her wa3-s by this freshet, so that the common process of launching was unnecessary. For- 
tunately the vessel was secured and made fast, or she would probably have made a long 
voyage down the river, without the usual equipments. 

June 2, 1826, the Mississippi was three feet higher at St. Louis than it had been within the 
preceding forty years. It was up to Main street in that city — houses were swept away, and a 
vuiSt amount of property was destroyed. 

July 14, 1828, there was an extraordinary rise in the Ohio river, supposed to be as great as 
that of 1792. It carried desolation into the lower part of Wheeling, which was covered with water 
to the depth of six feet. There was a vast amount of property destroyed along the river. 

In 1836 the Mississippi rose fifty-four feet above low-water mark, being nine feet ten inches 
higher than it was in the flood of 1810. 

In 1844 the houses at Cairo, at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi, were nearly 
submerged. The swollen rivers were fourteen miles wide between the opposite shores of Ken- 
tucky and Missouri. Moveable property of every kind, fences, cattle, lumber, furniture, and 
entire houses, (wooden ones, of course,) were floated down the Mississippi and other rivers. 



A building was seen driving down the Mississippi, while several persons from the windows 
were calling for assistance, which, on account of the torrent-like velocity of thcr stream, could 
not be afl"orded them. Many lives were lost, and the amount of property destroyed by this 
flood is beyond all estimate. Many drowning people and dead bodies floated down the Mis- 
sissippi. A house, with a whole family inside of it, went over the Falls of Ohio. Boats passed 
over fields and plantations, far beyond the usual limits of the river, and took the frightened 

(267) 



268 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

inhabitants from the upper stories and roofs of their houses, to which they had been driven 
for refuge frutn the water?. The levees or embankments made at different places, as defences 
against the river, were broken through. It is believed that more than four hundred human 
beings perished in this flood. Red River was higher in January of this year than ever it was 
before, within the recollection of man, and higher than ever it has been since. All the lands 
in the immediate neighborhood of that river were desolated, and every vestige of cultivation 
was destroyed. In June of this year, the Mississippi, at St. Louis, was eleven miles wide, and 
was on a level with the second story windows of the houses on the levee at that city. Many 
houses were swept away and great numbers of cattle were drowned. The loss of property 
was immense. An obelisk about twenty feet high has been erected on the levee below 
Market street, St. Louis, to designate the height of the water at the time of this flood. 

In March, 1849, the water was ten feet deep in some of the streets of New Orleans. This 
was the most destructive flood that ever visited that city. The plantations above were c>fer- 
flowed, and the rush of the water over the fields, in some places, was perfectly irresistible, 
currying away everything which opposed the current, which was believed to move at the 
rate of sixty miles per hour. The damage sustained by planters and others was esti- 
mated at $00,000,000. 

In April, 1852, the Ohio, at Wheeling and Pittsburgh, rose as high as it did in 1832. There 
was a great destruction of property along the river, and many lives were lost. 



EXPLOSION OF THE POCAHONTAS. 

The disaster about to be related, took place on Arkansas river, ten 
miles below Dardanella, on the 14th day of March, 1852. While 
rounding out from a wood-yard, she collapsed both flues of her middle 
boiler, blowing out principally aft. Eighteen persons were scalded, of 
whom eight died before eleven o'clock on the following morning. The 
boat took fire immediately after the explosion, but was saved by the 
strenuous exertions of the officers and crew, assisted by the passengers. 

Killed. — Win. Pettit, second engineer, Quincy, 111. ; Michael Ma- 
guire, fireman, Ireland ; Henry Cook, first cook, Missouri ; Lavinia 
Barker, Simon Barker and Mourning Barker, passengers, of Indiana; 
Joseph and John A. McDonald, passengers. 

Scalded. — Wm. Sanford, (badly,) third engineer, St. Louis ; Wm. 
Blythe, fireman, Ireland ; Wra. Morgan, deck hand, New Orleans ; 
Matilda Ilousely, passenger, Indiana; Thomas Barker, infant, (badly,) 
Indiana; W. J. McDonald and son, Susan McDonald, and Amanda 
Ilousely, of Indiana, passengers, and the first engineer. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 269 



COLLISION OF THE GULNARE AND WESTWOOD. 

"While on her way from St. Louis to New Orleans, with a valuable 
cargo, the steamboat Gulnare, September 8, 1844, came in contact with 
the steamer Westwood, about twenty miles above Helena. The Gulnare 
was struck on the starboard side, opposite the main hatch, and was so 
badly broken up that she sunk within three minutes. The passengers 
and crew escaped, with the exception of two Germans and a United 
States soldier, who were deck passengers. These three persons were 
drowned. The soldier was much intoxicated. One of the Germans 
lost his life while attempting to save his baggage. The Gulnare was 
heavily laden, and only a small part of her cargo was saved. 



EXPLOSION AND BURNING OF THE ST. JOSEPH. 

This disaster took place at the mouth of Arkansas river, January 
12, 1850. The St. Joseph was from New Orleans, bound to St. 
Louis, with a valuable cargo on board. This steamer and the South 
America were running side by side at the time of the accident. The 
larboard boiler of the St. Joseph exploded, and the boat soon after 
tooK fire. There were many deck passengers on board, some of whom 
plunged into the river. The boiler was blown backward, instantly 
killing a boy at the .engine, and mortally wounding the second en- 
gineer, who died the next day. A Mr. Moore, of Glasgow, Mo., was 
also mortally wounded. He lingered in great agony for twenty-four 
hours, having every particle of skin pealed from his body. It is be- 
lieved that eight or ten persons were drowned. 

We have stated above that the steamer South America was near the 
St. Joseph at the time of the accident. Captain Baker, of the last 
named boat, took $3000 from the iron chest and handed it to the 
clerk of the South America for safe keeping. On the next day, Cap- 
tain Baker, wishing to pay off his men, desired to have his money 
back, but the clerk of the South America would give him but $300, 
claiming the balance for salvage. Captain Baker stopped at Mem- 
phis, in order to take legal measures for the recovery of his money. 
The South America was attached at that port, and the Sheriff took 
possession and detained her for twenty-four hours. In the meanwhile, 
the facts of the case coming to the knowledge of the citizens, caused 



MAP or THE OHIO. — NO. 28. 



Big Hurricane I. 




^?^^a Three Sisters' lids. 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS 



271 



such a general feeling of indignation, that the officers of the South 
America being apprehensive of popular vengeance, agreed to refund 
the money to Captain Baker. The behaviour of Captain Greenlee to 
the crew and passengers of the St. Joseph's, is represented as inhuman 
in the highest degree. 



LOSS OF THE STEAMBOAT MECHANIC. 

(with general LAFAYETTE ON BOARD.) 

The steamboat Mechanic had been chartered at Nashville for the 
conveyance of General Lafayette and suite to Marietta, Ohio. She 
departed from the former place on Friday morning, May 6th, 1825, 
having on board, besides her officers and crew, General Lafayette, 
General Carroll and staff. Governor Coles, of Illinois, General O'Fal- 
lon, Major Nash, of Missouri, and several other gentlemen as passen- 
gers. On the following Sunday, about 12 o'clock, midnight, while the 
steamer was ascending the Ohio, and when near the mouth of Deer 
Creek, about one hundred and twenty-five miles below Louisville, a 
severe shock was felt by the persons on board, and it was soon ascer- 
tained that the boat had struck some object under the surface of the 




SINKING OP T 11 R Jl i; C II A N 1 C , 



water. The commander, Capt. ^all, presently announced to the pas- 
sengers in the cabin that the boat had snagged. Capt. Hall then 
caused the yawl to be made ready to convey General Lafayette and 
the other passengers ashore. In the meanwhile, the General had been 
aroused from his slumbers, and was soon prepared to leave the 
steamer. As the night was very dark, and great confusion prevailed 



MAP OF THE OHIO .— N 0. 29 . 



Stewart's I. 




^ 



Tennessee I 



Tow Head 



Metropolis «a 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 273 

on board, General Lafayette, •while attempting to descend into the 
yawl, was precipitated into the river and would have been drowned but 
for the assistance of one of thp deck hands, whose name we have been 
unable to ascertain. The General, although far advanced in age, was 
able to keep himself above water until help arrived. He lost eight 
thousand dollars in money, besides his carriage, clothing, &c., but 
finally reached the shore in safety. 

While Capt. Hall was devoting all his attention to the preservation 
of his passengers, his desk, containing one thousand three hundred 
dollars, was lost overboard and was never recovered. 



EXPLOSION OF THE PILOT. 

The steam tow-boat Pilot, Capt. Brown, bursted all her boilers, on 
March 14th, 1845, a short distance below New Orleans, while engaged 
in towing the brig Pioneer up to that city. Some fragments of the 
boat were thrown into the air with such force as to carry away the 
top-gallant mast and fore top -gallant yard of the Pioneer. 

List of Killed. — William B. Fagan, first engineer ; Mr. Barry, a 
passenger ; Mr. Davis, steersman ; and a fireman, name not mentioned. 

Wounded. — William Webster, branch pilot ; William Reilly, second 
engineer ; Capt. Brown ; three deck-hands and four firemen. 

Capt. Brown was thrown ofi" the vessel by the concussion and was 
taken out of the water by the crew of the brig. 



BURNING OF THE SOUTH AMERICA. 

This steamer was destroyed by fire on the Mississippi river, nine 
miles above New Orleans, December 17th, 1850. About forty lives 
were lost. Sixteen of those who perished were United States soldiers; 
the rest were deck hands, and persons belonging to the boat. One 
woman was killed, viz : Mrs. White, the wife of the carpenter. In 
order to save her from the flames, her husband threw her into the 
river and then sprung after her, but could not save her. 

List of Killed. — Jackson Knowles, head cook ; William Sheppard, 
porter ; a young man from Elizabethtown, 111., name unknown ; three 
firemen ; a collier, wife and child ; the following United States soldiers, 
viz. : Gilder, Hunt, Franks, Rean, Rosendale, Drury, Dumont, Dailey, 
Buyer, Gerard, Ilyer, Johnston, Kimble, Loomis, Werther, Lind, and 
Donnie ; several deck passengers, names unknown, were also lost. 

All the baggage belonging to the passengers, and the boat's books 
and papers, were destroyed. 13 




(274) 



AWFUL AND DESTRUCTIVE CONFLAGRATION AT ST. LOUIS. 

TWENTY-THREE STEAMBOATS BURNED, SEVERAL SQUARES IN ASHES. 



The prosperous and beautiful city of St. Louis, Mo., was visited on the night of 17th May, 
1849, by a most terrible conflagration, which destroyed property to the amount of $5,000,0U0. 
The fire broke out about 10 o'clock, p. m., near the river, at the corner of Locust street and the 
Levee, where the corner house and the three buildings above on the Levee were destroyed. 
From thence the flames spread across Locust street, sweeping every house, (with but one ex- 
ception,) in the blocks fronting on the Levee and Main street, and extending from Locust street 
southward to Chestnut street, a distance of three squares. The fire then advanced up Chestnut 
street and crossed over to the next block south, at the junction of Commercial alley with this 
street, then extending from the alley to Main street, and down that to Market street, consuming 
everything in its route, except two buildings at the comer of Market street and Commercial 
alley. At the intersection of Market and Main streets, the flames crossed diagonally to the 
Market Street House, and followed both sides of Market street up to Second street Then, 
crossing Main street, the flames again swept every building, from Locust to Market street, ex- 
cept a row of four-story fire-proof warehouses just below Locust street. Thence the destruc- 
tive element proceeded up Pine, Chestnut and Market streets, consuming every house in the 
two blocks between the streets just mentioned and Main and Second streets, together with 
nearly half the block north of Olive street. 

At this point the ravages of the fire in this part of the city were stayed ; but in order to pro- 
duce this efi"ect, it was found necessary to blow up two or three houses at the corner of Market 
and Second streets. Several ptersons were killed by the explosion, one of whom was Mr. Tar- 
gee, a well known citizen of St. Louis. The fragments of one of the dead bodies were found 
on the opposite side of the street; one piece near the junction of Walnut and Second streets, 
and a thigh-bone and foot belonging to another body, near the lower end of Walnut street, two 
or three squares from the spot where the houses were blown up. These, with the body of a 
boy who was burned on the Levee, were supposed to constitute the remains of four persons who 
had perished in the conflagration. 

Although the progress of the fire was arrested at the point designated above, the flames con- 
tinued to spread southward ; having made another start at the foot of Elm street, and spread- 
ing diagonally through the block, it again reached Main street, extending down to Spruce 
street, a distance, north and south, of two squares. Then crossing Main Street, it swept all 
before it to within a short distance of Third street, three squares to the west of its starting 
point. At Main street, the flames crossed Elm street, and consumed one fourth of the block 
north of Elm and west of Main streets. From the foot of Elm street, up its southern side to 
Second street, a distance of two squares, not a house was left standing. This dreadful cala- 
mity reduced many families from comfortable circumstances to perfect destitution. Hundreds 
of estimable people were made houseless. 

" Cast abandoned on the world's wide stage, 
And doomed in scanty poverty to roam." 

About ten o'clock, p. m., the fire, by some means, was communicated to the steamer White 
Cloud. There was quite a fleet of steamboats moored at the Levee at this time. The Eudora 
was lying above the White Cloud, and the Edward Bates below it; the Belle Isle and Julia 
were moored below the Bates. A strong wind was blowing from the north-west at the time 
the fire commenced its devastations among the boats. The flames were soon communicated 
from the White Cloud to the Eudora, and the Edward Bates caught almost at the oame moment. 

(275) 



276 CONFLAGRATION AT ST. LOUIS; 

The hawsers of this vessel were either cut or severed by the fire, and she then drifted into the 
current, carrying destruction to almost all the boats stationed south of her. As the wind set 
in towards the wharf, the cables were hauled in and they drifted out into the current, yet the 
flaming vessel followed them up with a speed from which it seemed impossible for them to es- 
cape. She appeared to be animated by some intelligent spirit, which prompted her to involve 
the others in that destruction to which she herself was doomed. The fleet of vessels being 
loosened from their moorings, were driven about, the sport of the wind and the waves, with 
nobody on board to control their motions. 

Within half an hour from the time the conflagration commenced among the boats, twenty- 
three of them had been surrendered to the fury of the flames, and half a million dollars worth 
of property was destroyed. The spectacle was awful but magnificent; a spectacle to which no 
pencil could do justice, but not the less dreadful and horrifying to every spectator. 

List op Boats Destroyed. — American Eagle, Gossan, Master, Keokuk and Upper Missis- 
Bippi packet ; valued at $14,000 ; total loss ; insured for $3,500 at Pittsburgh ; no cargo. 

Alice, Kennett, Master, Missouri river packet ; valued at $18,000; total loss; insured for 
$12,000. 

Alexander Hamilton, Hooper, Master, Missouri river packet; valued at $15,000; total loss; 
insured for $10,500 in eastern oflSces; no cargo. 

Acadia, John Russell, Master, Illinois river packet ; valued at $4,000; total loss ; fully in- 
sured in eastern oflBces; cargo valued at $1,000. 

Boreas No. 3, Bernard, Master, Missouri river packet; valued at $14,500; total loss ; in- 
sured for $11,500 in city ofiSces ; no cargo. 

Belle Isle, Smith, Master, New Orleans trader; valued at $10,000; total loss; insured for 
$8,000 at New Orleans ; no cargo. 

Eliza Stewart, H. McKee, Master, Missouri river trader; valued at $9,000 ; total loss ; in- 
sured for nearly the full value at Nashville ; no cargo. 

Eudora, Ealer, Master, New Orleans and St. Louis trader; valued at $16,000; total loss; 
insured for $10,500 at St. Louis ; no cargo. 

Edward Bates, Randolph, Master, Keokuk packet; valued at $22,500; total loss; insured 
for $15,000 at St. Louis ; no cargo. 

Frolic, Ringling, Master, tow-boat; valued at $1,500; total loss; no insurance ; no cargo. 

Kit Carson, Goddin, Master, Missouri river packet; valued at $16,000; total loss; insured 
for $8,000 at St. Louis ; cargo valued at $.3,000. 

Mameluke, Smithers, Master, New Orleans and St. Louis trader ; valued at $30,000 ; total 
loss ; insured for $20,000 at Louisville, Columbus, &c. 

Mandan, Beers, Master, Missouri river trader; valued at $14,000; total loss; insured for 
$10,500 at St. Louis; no cargo. 

Montauk, Moorhouse, Master, Upper Mississippi trader; valued at $16,000; total loss; in- 
sured for $10,000 at St. Louis, &c. ; cargo valued at $8,000. 

Martha, D. Finch, Master, Missouri river trader; valued at $10,000; total loss; fully in- 
sured at St. Louis ; cargo valued at $30,000 ; also insured. 

Prairie State, Baldwin, Master, Illinois river packet; valued at $26,000 ; total loss ; insured 
in eastern oflBces for $18,000; cargo valued at $3,000 

Redwing, Barger, Master, Upper Mississippi trader ; valued at $6,000 ; total loss ; no in- 
surance ; cargo valued at $3,000. 

St. Peter's, Ward, Master, Upper Mississippi trader ; valued at $12,000 ; total loss ; in- 
sured for $9,000 at Nashville and Louisville ; no cargo. 

Sarah, Young, Master, New Orleans and St. Louis trader; valued at $35,000; total loss. 

Taglioni, Marshall, Master, Pittsburgh and St. Louis trader ; valued at $20,000 ; total loss ; 
insured for nearly the full value at Pittsburgh ; cargo valued at $15,000. 

Timour, Miller, Master, Missouri river trader ; valued at $25,000 ; total loss ; insured for 
$18,000 at St. Louis, <fcc. ; cargo valued at $6,000. 

White Cloud, Adams, Master, Now Orleans and St. Louis trader ; valued at $3,000 ; total 
loss ; fully insured ; no cargo. 

And a, Ferry boat, valued at $3,000.- 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 277 



EXPLOSION OF THE CONCORDIA. 

On the 16th of September, 1848, the steamer Concordia burst all 
her boilers, when about to land passengers at Plaquemine, La. All the 
upper works were demolished, and some fragments of them were blown 
to the distance of three hundred yards. The cabin passengers all es- 
caped uninjured. Twenty-eight of the crew and deck passengers were 
killed, and eight or ten persons were wounded. 

Killed. — B. j\L McDowell, clerk ; Michael McQuaide, deck hand ; 
Henry Jordon, a colored fireman ; two cabin boys ; a fireman, name 
not mentioned ; Robert and Edward Davis, colored men ; and about 
twenty deck passengers, names unknown. 

Wounded. — Capt. H. Pease (mortally) ; John F. Mosely, second 
clerk ; John Tabbot, colored fireman ; John Henderson, first engineer; 
F. W. Colles, book-keeper ; Samuel Bunnall, colored fireman. Capt. 
Pease died soon after the accident. 



EXPLOSION OF THE TIMOUR NO. 2. 

The steamboat Timour No. 2 exploded, September 25th, 1854, while 
lying at Edwards' wood-yard, on the Missouri river, three miles below 
Jefferson City. She was taking in wood at the time. All her boilers, 
three in number, exploded at the same moment, wrecking all the for- 
ward part as far as the wheel-houses, killing fifteen persons, and 
wounding five or six others. The boat sunk soon after the explosion. 
She had a valuable cargo, the greater part of which was lost. The 
names of the sufierers are not mentioned, with the exception of Mr. 
Charles Dix, the Captain's brother, who was blown overboard and 
drowned. 



SINKING OF THE BELLE ZANE. 

On the eighth of January, 1845, the steamboat Belle Zane, while on 
her way from Zanesville, Ohio, to New Orleans, struck a snag in the 
Mississippi, about twelve miles below the mouth of White river, and 



MAP OP THE OHIO . — N . 30 . 



Hilderman''; 




=/ Caah I. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 279 

immediately turned bottom upward! This terrible accident took 
place in the middle of an exceedingly cold night. Of ninety persons 
•who were on board a moment before the disaster, only fifty escaped 
drowning — and many of those who succeeded in reaching the shore 
were afterwards frozen to death. At the time the boat was snafirired, 

CO ' 

the passengers were all in their berths ; those who were able to extri- 




Itieifueer 



SINKING OP THE BELLE ZANE. 

cate themselves when the boat suddenly turned over, had scarcely any 
clothing to protect them from the inclemency of the weather. No 
situation could be more wretched than that of the people who escaped 
to the beach, almost naked, unsheltered and drenched with water on 
a freezing night in December. They remained in this miserable situa- 
tion for nearly two hours, when the steamboat Diamond came down 
and took oflF all who remained alive, sixteen in number. There were 
five ladies on board, all of whom were saved in the yawl. The feet 
and hands of some of the survivors were so badly frozen that ampu- 
tation was necessary. 

The following is a list of those who perished, as far as their names 
could be ascertained : — Dr. Brant, Ohio ; Abner Jones, C. Banks, 
Mrs. Williams, two daughters and a colored slave. Miss. ; Ilettie Fra- 
zier and cousin, name unknown, Boston ; Edward Bossing and son, 
Illinois ; Mrs. Wilkes and family, consisting of eight persons ; seven 
deck hands, fourteen slaves, and thirty other names unknown. Sixteen 
bodies were picked up, including four ladies, and buried on the banks 
of the Mississippi. 



ist of Sttamiroats ^fhat 



THE WESTERN RIVERS. 



Names. 


Where BtiUt. 


1? 


a 


Names. 


Where Bailt. 


:°3 


i 

1 






^a 


H 
559 






^P5 


Anglo Norman, 


New Orleans, 


ISdO 


Aleonia, 


Elizabeth, 


1851 


286 


Alabama, 


CiiiCinnati, 


1851 


298 


Alliquippa, 


Pittsburgh, 


1845 


306 


Alice, 


Cincinnati, 


1852 


130 


Albertine, 


Louisville, 


1855 


160 


Aid, U. S. 


Zanesville, 


1852 


125 


Anawan, 


Cincinnati, 


1855 


163 


Audibou, 


Murraysville, 


1853 


191 


Alton, 


Brownsville, 


1847 


345 


Ariel, 


Cincinnati, 


1854 


169 


Aleck Scott, 


St. Louis, 


1848 


710 


Ambassador, 


do. 


1854 


173 


Atlantic, 


Cincinnati, 


1848 


667 


Anderson, Paul 


Brownsville, 


1850 


310 


Alliquippa, 


Pittsburgh, 


1844 


2U 


Ambassador, 


Monongahela, 


1851 


367 


Antelope, 


New Albany, 


1854 


600 


Allegheny, 


Shousetown, 


1852 


520 


Bayard, Stephen 


West Elizabeth, 


1851 


166 


Alliance, 


do. 


1852 


136 


Barker, B. B. 


McKeesport, 


1852 


83 


Active, 


Brownsville, 


1852 


52 


Bayard, Col. 


do. 


1852 


177 


Arkansas, 


California, 


1852 


246 


Bedford, 


Cristler's Ldg., 


1852 


181 


Alabama, 


Elizabeth, 


1852 


213 


Ben Bolt, 


California, 


1853 


228 


America, North 


do. 


1852 


270 


Bagaley, 


Belle Vernon, 


1854 


396 


Arctic, 


Shousetown, 


1852 


351 


Bay City, 


Brownsville, 


1854 


228 


Australia, 


Brownsville, 


1853 


289 


Baird, Wm. 


Elizabeth, 


1855 


287 


Adams, Alvin 


McKeesport, 


1853 


592 


Brown, Dick 


McKeesport, 


1855 


57 


Aubry, F. H, 


Brownsville, 


1853 


247 


Blake, Henry 


Allegheny City, 


1855 


29 


Adriance, 


Shousetown, 


185:; 


167 


Buckeye, 


Cincinnati, 


1849 


377 


Arabia, 


Brownsville, 


1853 


222 


Boone, 


do. 


1848 


196 


Alida, 


Belle Vernon, 


1853 


94 


Bealer, C. 


do. 


1854 


263 


Altoona, 


Brownsville, 


1853 


166 


Bostuna, 


do. 


1854 


35 S 


Adelia, 


California, 


1853 


127 


Boon, Dan'I. 


do. 


1854 


381 


Augusta, 


Elizabeth, 


1853 


29 


Bullitt, Fanny 


Louisville, 


1854 


439 


Admiral, 


McKeesport, 


1853 


245 


Black Locust, 


Jeffersonville, 


1853 


106 


Alice, 


California, 


1853 


72 


Boulder, 


Louisville, 


1854 


78 


Adriatic, 


Shousetown, 


1855 


424 


Buckeye, 


Wellsville, 


1853 


48 


Alma, 


Belle Vernon, 


1855 


311 


Buck, John, 


California, 


1854 


111 


Amazon, 


do. 


1855 


410 


Bridge City, 


Wheeling, 


1854 


200 


Argonaut, 


Brownsville, 


1855 


229 


Buckeye Belle, 


Marietta, 


1852 


156 


Adelaide, 


Louisville, 


1853 


136 


Bridges, H. 


New Albany, 


1855 


176 


Alada, 


Belle Vernon, 


1853 


94 


Beaty, Dr. 


Louisville, 


1851 


281 


Alabamian, 


Alabama, 


1853 


198 


Bella Donna, 


do. 


1852 


468 


Ariel, 


Wheeling, 


1855 


31 


Biebe, Junius, 


Algiers, 


1853 


525 


Albemarle, 


do. 


1855 


|S6 


Belle Godin, 


Brownsville, 


1854 


189 


Atlanta, 


do. 


1854 


142 


Billow, 


Allegheny City, 


1854 


84 


Alto, 


Pittsburgh, 


1850 


37 


Brazil, 


McKeesport, 


1854 


211 


Argyle, 


Freedom, 


1853 


319 


Beauty, 


Newport, 


1852 


169 


America, South 


McKeesport, 


1854 


284 


Bay State, 


Cincinnati, 


1852 


210 


Aubry, Major 


Louisville, 


1853 


79 


Banner State, 


do. 


1851 


254 


Amanda, 


do. 


1852 


143 


Buckeye Belle, 


Marietta, 


1852 


156 


Allegheny Bello,3 


Brownsville, 


1852 


129 


Buckeye State, 


Shousetown, 


1860 


437 


Alhambra, 


McKeesport, 


1S64 


187 


Badger State, 


California, 


1850 


127 


Aunt Letty, 


Elizabeth, 


1855 


304 


Belle Quigley, 


Brownsville, 


1850 


133 


All Oak, 


Chorester's Ldg., 


1854 


57 


Barker, B. b. 


McKeesport, 


1850 


83 


Atlanta, 


Honey Comb,Ala. 


1851 


112 


Bell, Jno. 


Louisville, 


1855 


209 


Antionette, Doug. 


Cincinnati, 


1854 


242 


Bluff City, 


do. 


1854 


252 


Anna, 


New Albany, 


1S49 


84 


Burns. Lewis 


Brownsville, 


1865 


62 


Albree, Geo. 


Brownsville, 


1854 


181 


Blue Wing, 


Louisville, 


1850 


170 


Aquilla, 


West Newton, 


1854 


59 


Belle Key, 


New Albany, 


1853 


525 


Arkansas, 


California, 


1852 


246 


Baltimore, 


Martinsville, 


1853 


637 



(280) 



LIST OF STEAMBOATS. 



281 



Names. 


Where Built. 


O o 


OS 

a 


Name*. 


•Where Built. 




a 






5« 






?a 


a 
H 


Brown, Emma 


Tennessee, 


1854 


108 


Campbell, Ben 


Shousetown, 


1850 


287 


Belleville, 


Algiers. 


1851 


128 


Coursin, Ben 


Cincinnati, 


1854 


161 


Brunette, 


Louisville, 


1852 


228 


City of Cairo, 


Louisville, 


1855 


199 


Blanche Lewis, 


Pittsburgh, 


1855 


200 


Coosa Belle, 


do. 


1855 


186 


Brown, Emma 


Memphis, 


1854 


108 


Collier, Geo. 


New Albany, 


1851 


540 


Beardstown, 


St. Louis, 


1847 


78 


Darian, Major 


Freedom, 


1852 


10 


Black Hawk, 


Rock Island, 


1852 


84 


Diurnal, 


Monongahela, 


1850 


199 


Bluff City, 


St. Louis, 


185: 


397 


Daugherty, M. L. 


Elizabeth, 


1853 


95 


Belfast, 


do. 


1854 


781 


Delegate, 


do. 


1854 


208 


Bridge City, 


Fish Creek, 


I85:> 


200 


Done, J. H. 


Shousetown, 


1854 


212 


Colorado, 


Monongahela, 


185( 


98 


Denny, W. H. 


California, 


1855 


276 


Cleona, 


West Elizabeth, 


1850 


204 


Delta, 


Cincinnati, 


1849 


396 


Cataract, 


do. 


1851 


283 


Dunkirk, 


do. 


1851 


377 


Corn Planter, 


McKeesport, 


1851 


178 


Diana, 


do. 


1849 


188 


Colbert, 


West Elizabeth, 


1855 


165 


Delaware, 


do. 


1851 


501 


Clara, 


Monongahela, 


1851 


248 


Drennen, CoL 


do. 


1862 


126 


Clarion, 


do. 


1851 


73 


Duke, 


do. 


1853 


348 


Caspian, 


West Elizabeth, 


1851 


249 


Dutchess, 


do. 


1853 


226 


Calm, 


McKeesport, 


1852 


26 


Davenport, 


do. 


1855 


138 


Convers, Dan. 


do. 


1852 


103 


Downs, S. W. 


Louisville, 


1851 


237 


Cleopatra, 


Monongahela, 


1852 


152 


Defiance, 


Cincinnati, 


1849 


544 


Clara Dean, 


Brownsville, 


1853 


190 


Delia, 


Louisville, 


1851 


311 


Castle Garden, 


McKeesport, 


1853 


162 


Dean, Emma 


Cincinnati, 


1851 


212 


Caledonia, 


do. 


1853 


239 


Dean, Jennie 


McKeesport, 


1852 


485 


Crescent City, 


Elizabeth, 


1854 


282 


Day, D. 


Cincinnati, 


IS52 


213 


Cassel, Kate 


California, 


1854 


167 


Dickinson, CoL 


do. 


1850 


222 


Convoy, 


Freedom, 


1854 


123 


Davis, A. L. 


N'ashville, 


1853 


102 


City of Knoxville, 


California, 


1854 


76 


Daniel, Thos. M. 


.Madisonville, 


1853 


540 


Conewago, 


Brownsville, 


1854 


186 


Dean, Jesse 


Pittsburgh, 


1855 


186 


Chicago, 


California, 


1854 


219 


Dubuque, 


Elizabeth town, 


1847 


169 


Chenoweth, J. S. 


Haverhill, 


1851 


310 


Enterprize, 
Echo, -^ 


Z:inesvillo, 


1850 


200 


Cloon, Sara. 


Cincinnati, 


1851 


301 


Cincinnati, 


1850 


161 


Charleston, 


do. 


1852 


345 


Europa, 


do. 


1850 


349 


Condor, 3. 


Pomeroy, 


1853 


368 


Empire State, 


Elizabeth, 


1849 


303 


Chouteau, Tlenry 


Cincinnati, 


1853 


623 


Eliza, 


Cincinnati, 


1852 


349 


Clark, B. E. 


Fulton, 


1853 


200 


Early, J. D. 


do. 


1853 


348 


Commodore, 


do. 


1853 


129 


Editor, 


Brownsville, 


1851 


247 


Crescent City, 


Cincinnati, 


1854 


^iSS 


Elk, 


Elizabeth, 


1851 


62 


City Belle, 


Murraysville, 


1854 


216 


Excel, 


.McKeesport, 


1851 


79 


Chambers, Col. A. 


Cincinnati. 


1855 


411 


Elvira, 


Brownsville, 


1851 


222 


Cherokee, [B. 


Xew Albany, 


185(1 


417 


Elephant, 


do. 


1851 


425 


Creole, 


Green Point, 


1852 


317 


Envoy, 


West Elizabeth, 


1852 


179 


Caddo, 2 


Louisville, 


1851 


274 


E.Ychange, 


Brownsville, 


1852 


128 


Carrier, 


-Marietta, 


1853 


98 


Empress, 


Lowell, 


1S52 


137 


Capital, 


Louisville, 


1855 


149 


Eagle, 


Shousetown, 


1852 


201 


Cobh, R. L. 


do. 


1855 


197 


Equinox, 


Monongahela, 


1852 


297 


Clinton, 


Elizabeth, 


1850 


34 


Equator, 


Beavor. 


1853 


62 


City of Wheeling, 


Wheeling, 


185;i 


439 


Edinburg, 


Brownsville, 


1854 


283 


Crystal Palace, 


Freedom, 


1853 


541 


Endeavor, 


Freedom, 


1854 


200 


Colbert, 


West Elizabeth, 


1851 


168 


Eclipse, 


California, 


1854 


156 


Compromise, 


Monongahela, 


1851 


270 


Empire, 


do. 


1854 


153 


City of Iluntsville 


Elizabeth, 


1852 


2::i8 


Ella, 


Elizabeth, 


1854 


173 


Chevoit, 


California, 


1853 


176 


Evansvillo, 


W. Brownsville, 


1854 


155 


Cuba, 


Brownsville, 


1853 


!58 


Empire City, 


Calif«)rnia, 


1854 


263 


Challenge, 


Shousetown, 


1854 


229 


Eaves, W. A. 


Brownsville, 


1854 


146 


Clipper, 


Belle Vernon, 


1 855 


68 


Empress, 


Louisville, 


185.-! 


693 


Ciirson, J. B. 


Shousetown, 


1855 


186 


Eclipse, 


Now Albany, 


1852 


1117 


Courier, 


Parkersburg, 


1852 


165 


Exchange, 


Brownsville, 


1849 


110 


C. D. Jr. 


Louisville, 


1853 


!47 


Eclipse, 


Belle Vt'rnon, 


1853 


216 


Ceres, 


do. 


1852 


218 


Embassy, 


Wheeling, 


1848 


237 


Clifton, 


Glassgo, W. 


1855 


183 


Eastport, 


Mow Albany, 


1852 


570 


Cline, J. G. 


Madison, 


1853 


295 


Eolian, 


Brownsville, 


1855 


205 


Cumberland Val., 


Louisville, 


1850 


199 


Eunice, 


Pittsburgh, 


1855 


206 


Cabinet, 


Wheeling, 


1849 


190 


EflSo Afton, 


Cincinnati, 


1S55 


400 


Champion, 


Cincinnati, 


1854 


147 


Excelsior, 


tirownsvillo. 


1849 


172 


Cincinnati, 


Pittsburgh, 


1850 


333 


Eunice, 


irownsvillo. 


855 


232 


Champion, 1 


Cincianati, 


1851 


90 


Empire, 


New Albany, 


1849 


449 



282 



LIST OF STEAMBOATS. 



Frisbee, Kate, 

Forrest Rose, 

Fawn, 

Farrar, Fanny 

Florida, 

Falls City, 

Fort Henry, 

Freeman, Ra'dm. 

Franklin, 

Far ward, Walter 2 

Franklin, Jane, 

Franklin, 

Forest City, 

Falcon, 

Fanny Fern, 

Forrester, 

Fairfield, 

Fairy Queen, 

Franklin, Benj. 

Fremont, J. C. 

Falls City> 

Flora, 

Friendship, 

Forest Queen, 

Fairy, 

Franklin, Benj. 

Falcon, 

Flag, 

Fashion, 2 

Fire Canoe, 

F. K., Jr. 

Fulton, 

Farmer, W. W. 

Franklin, Benj. 

Fashion, 

Freighter, 

Flying Cloud, 

Fusilier, A. 

Fanny Fern, 

Garth, Molly 

Georgia, 

Granite State, 

Guadalupe, 

Golden State, 

Georgetown, 

Gazelle, 

Gray Cloud, 

Genoa, 

Grand Turk, 

Great West, 

Grapeshot, 

Gipsey, 

Gladiator, 

Gem, 

Gull) are, 

Grampus, 

Golden Era, 

Grand Prairie, 

Golden Gate, 

Greenwood, Mos. 

Gazelle, 

Glendale, 

Graham, N. W. 

Galena, 

Gregoire, A. L. 

Gales, Jo. 

Garvin, Wm. 



Brooklyn, 

California, 

Loifisville, 

Paducah, 

Louisville, 

do. 
Wheeling, 
Shousetown, 

do. 
Pittsburgh, 
Freedom, 
Brownsville, 

do. 
McKeesport, 
California, 
Brownsville, 
Freedom, 
Belle Vernon, 
Brownsville, 
California, 
Wellsville, 
California, 
Wheeling, 
Cincinnati, 

do, 

do. 
McKeesport, 
Cincinnati, 
Elizabeth, 
Lawrence, 
Ironton, 
Elizabeth, 
Louisville, 

do. 

do. 
Zanesville, 
Cincinnati, 
Parish St. Mary, 
Shreveport, 
Elizabeth, 

do. 
W. Elizabeth, 

do. 
McKeesport, 
Lone Island, 
Brownsville, 
Elizabeth, 
California, 
McKeesport, 
California, 

do. 

do. 
Freedom, 
Cincinnati, 

do, 
Rising Sun, 
Wheeling, 
G alio polls, 
Madison, 
Cincinnati, 

do. 

do. 
Covington, 
Madison, 
Cincinnati, 

do.. 
Louisvillei 



II 


1 
a 
a 

o 
H 


1856 


457 


1862 


205 


1853 


182 


1853 


134 


1855 


546 


1853 


666 


185:i 


167 


1850 


493 


1861 


19 


1861 


39 


1851 


197 


1851 


181 


1851 


207 


1851 


180 


1853 


182 


1854 


188 


1.S64 


159 


1854 


169 


1854 


192 


1854 


316 


1855 


183 


1855 


160 


1851 


98 


1851 


283 


1851 


101 


1848 


473 


1851 


441 


1853 


235 


1849 


88 


1864 


166 


1854 


61 


1852 


206 


1854 


207 


1855 


733 


18a3 


408 


1855 


93 


1854 


540 


1851 


368 


1855 


155 


1851 


96 


1851 


326 


1852 


295 


1853 


139 


1852 


298 


1862 


183 


1854 


205 


1854 


246 


1864 


227 


1854 


247 


1855 


230 


1856 


153 


1855 


132 


1860 


236 


1860 


298 


1849 


347 


1861 


97 


1852 


249 


1852 


261 


1852 


317 


1852 


268 


1853 


38 


1863 


394 


1853 


287 


1854 


297 


1864 


173 


1855 


208 


1853 


269 I 



Guthrie, James, 

Grapeshot, 

Given, D. A. 

Glaze, Alice W. 

Grace Darling, 

GraiF, Henry, 

Georgetown, 

Gaty, Sam. 

Hartford, 

Heroine, 

Harris, J. M. 

Huron, 

Hays, C. 

Honduras, 

Herald, 

Herron, Jno. 

Henrietta, 

Hurricane, 

Hornet, 

Hercules, 

Hunter, 

Hero, 

Hawk Eye, 

Harris, Fanny, 

Hoosier State, 

Hungarian, 

Haverhill, 

Harris, Maj. A. 

Hickman, 

Highflyer, 

Hope, 

Hartsville, 

Hill, H. R. M. 

Huntsville.City of 

Howard, E. 

Hercules, 

Humbolt, 

Hawk Eye, 

Harmon, Emma 

Illinois, 

Illinois Belle,, 

Ironton, 

Indiana, 

Iris, 

Irene, 

Ingomar, 

Isabella, 

Iowa, 

Ion, 

Jefferson, 

Johnston, Mat, 

Justice, 

Jenkins, J. 

Juniatta, 

Jefferson, 

Jeanetto, 

Jones, R. M. 

Jacobs, 

Jones, Paul 

Jake Sharp, 

Jeanie Deans, 

Kate, 

Keeling, Frank 

Keystone, 

Kenton, 

Konnett, L. M. 

Keys, Dick 



Louisville, 

do. 
Paducah, 
Louisville, 
Madison, 
Belle Vernon, 
Lone Island, 
St. Louis, 
Monongahela, 
Brownsville, 
Shousetown, 
Christler's Ldg. 
Elizabeth, 
Brownsville, 

do. 
McKeesport, 
California, 
Pittsburg, 
W. Brownsville, 
McKeesport, 
Allegheny City, 
Brownsville, 
West Newton, 
Brownsville, 
Cincinnati, 
Elizabeth, 
Haverhill, 
Cincinnati, 

do. 
Madison, 
Louisville, 
Nashville, 
New Albany, 
Elizabeth, 
New Albany, 
Cincinnati, 

do. 
Davenport, 
Clarksville, 
Brownsville, 
McKeesport, 
Cincinnati, 

do. 
Rising Sun, 
Elizabeth, 
Louisville, 
Jeffersonville, 
Freedom, 
Fox River, 
Elizabeth, 

do. 
West Newton, 
Elizabeth, 
Allegheny City, 
McKeesport, 
Elizabeth, 
Newport, 
Maysville, 
McKeesport, 
Sharp's Landing, 
St. Louis, 
McKeesport, 
Monongahela, 
Brownsville, 
Cincinnati, 

do. 

do. 



LIST OF STEAMBOATS. 



283 



Ramei. 


Where Built. 




V 


Ntunos. 


Where Built. 


— 3 O 






(fa 


r1 
o 
H 






i£a 


a 

H 


Knox, Win. 


Point Harmer, 


1852 


200 


Mononga. Belle, 


Morgantown, 


1854 


74 


Kimball, 15. F. 


New Albany, 


1851 


312 


Minnosota Belle, 


Belle Vernon, 


1854 


226 


Kossuth, Gov. 


Keokuk, 


1852 


89 


Minerva, 


Brownsville, 


1854 


199 


Kentucky No. 2, 


I'^vausville, 


1851 


149 


Monongahela* 


do. 


1855 


335 


Keokuk, 


Metropolis, 


1855 


435 


May, Lucy, 


W. Brownsville, 


1855 


172 


Kimbrough, S. 


L. Winnebago, 


1852 


6() 


Mason, A. G. 


do. 


1855 


170 


Lunette, 


McKeesport, 


1852 


16tt 


McNeal, E. P. 


Cincinnati, 


1850 


204. 


Lake Erie, 


Brownsville, 


1851 


130 


Memphis, No. 2 


do. 


1852 


303 


Luzerne, 


do. 


1852 


180 


May Queen, 


Monongahela, 


1850 


68 


Liberty, Xo. 2 


Alleghany City, 


1852 


30 


Midas, 


Cincinnati, 
do. 


1851 


309 


Lookout, 


Monongahela, 


1853 


176 


Mediator, 


1852 


422 


Lyon, Jauios, 


Belle Vernon, 


1853 


190 


Monarch, 


Fulton, 


1853 


407 


Latrobe, 


Brownsville, 


1853 


159 


Miller, Nettie 


Smithland, 


1554 


146 


Lazier, J. 


do. 


1854 


73 


Marion, 


Louisville, 


1854 


133 


Louisville, 


do. 


1S54 


155 


Madona, 


do. 


1853 


95 


Lynch, 1). 


Elizabeth, 


1354 


50 


Magnolia Banner, 


do. 


1855 


151 


Laimer, Gen. 


do. 


IB.W 


92 


Monticello, 


Freedom, 


1852 


117 


Lebanon, 


Brownsville, 


1855 


226 


Mosby, D, B. 


Cincinnati, 


1849 


293 


Laclide, 


Calilbrnia, 


1855 


197 


Music, 


Louisville, 


1850 


473 


Louisa, 


Cincinnati, 


1850 


199 


Magnolia, 


New Albany, 


18511 


744 


Lancaster, No. 2 


do. 


1848 


168 


Morrisetti, 


do. 


1849 


650 


Lolia, No. 2 


do. 


1851 


134 


Mcllea, 11, W. 


Louisville, 


1853 


323 


Lady Pike, 


Wheeling, 


1851 


240 


Madison, 


Cincinnati, 


1853 


399 


Loo, Ben. 


Cincinnati, 


1852 


122 


Moses McLellan, 


do. 


1855 


400 


Lone Star, 


Louisville, 


1854 


126 


Martha, No, 2 


Shousetown, 


1849 


180 


Lind, Jeuuy 


Zanesville, 


1852 


107 


Movastar, 


Naples, 


1849 


140 


Logan, 


Louisville, 


1853 


150 


Mineaota, 


Elizabetbtown, 


1849 


149 


Lark, 


Pittsburgh, 


1853 


45 


Martha Jewett, 


Hannibal, 


1852 


408 


La Belle, 


Wheeling, 


1853 


130 


Mary C. 


Rockingham, 


1852 


158 


Louisa, 


Paducah, 


1851 


81 


Marengo, 


Pittsburgh, 


1855 


325 


Lecompte, 


Louisville, 


1855 


238 


Milburn, N. L. 


lowaville. 


1853 


76 


Lake, Lizzie 


Smithland, 


1855 


54 


New York, 


Monongahela, 


1852 


287 


Latona, New- 


Xow Albany, 


1850 


397 


Neptune, 


Brownsville, 


1852 


2U 


Leathers, T. P. 


-Memphis, 


1851 


435 


North Star, 


Elizabeth, 


1855 


269 


Lyon, Frank 


Louisville, 


1851 


447 


Northerner, 


Cincinnati, 


1853 


400 


Louisa, 


Cincinnati, 


1851 


394 


Natchez, 


do. 


1853 


699 


Laurel Hill, 


Xow Albany, 


1853 


498 


Nebraska, 


do. 


1854 


683 


Lancaster, Xo. 3 


Cincinnati, 


1855 


257 


National, 


Louisville, 


1854 


248 


Lincoln, 


Monongahela, 


1850 


94 


Niagara, 


New Albany, 


1855 


798 


Lauglilin, James 


Gallapolis, 


1853 


188 


Nicholas, Jane 


Wheeling, 


1851 


69 


Linden, 


do. 


1853 


140 


Nashville, 


New Albany, 


1849 


497 


Landia, Joseph 


Cincinnati, 


1853 


377 


New St. Paul, 


do. 


1852 


225 


Lucas, Jas. H. 


Louisville, 


1854 


476 


Noble, Wm. 


Cincinnati, 


1849 


350 


Lewis, Henry 


Cincinnati, 


1854 


480 


Nominee, 


Shousetown, 


1848 


213 


Linda, 


do. 


1855 


167 


New Lucy, 


St. Louis, 


1852 


417 


Lorentz, Fred. 


Belle Vernon, 


1855 


236 


Nile, 


St. Joseph, 


1853 


26 


Lewis P. Linn. 


Pittsburgh, 


1844 


163 


Obion, 


Christler's Ldg., 


1851 


62 


Lady Franklin, 


Wheeling, 


1850 


206 


Oakland, 


California, 


1853 


142 


Luella, 


Nashville, 


1851 


162 


Oswicheo, 


Elizabeth, 


1853 


212 


Lind, Jenny, 


L. Winnebago, 


1851 


113 


Ocean Wave, 


do. 


1854 


235 


Larkin, Thos. H. 


St. Louis, 


1855 


1097 


Ohio, 


Cincinnati, 


1849 


34S 


Lodo, 


Shreveport, 


1855 


60 


Orb, 


Wheeling, 


1854 


226 


Messenger, 


Pittsburgh, 


1855 


406 


Oquawka, 


Wellsville, • 


1855 


48 


McKee, John 


McKeesport, 


1850 


140 


Orion, 


Wheeling, 


1851 


129 


Magnolia, 


Elizabeth, 


1850 


161 


Odd Fellow, 


Louisville, 


1851' 


173 


Meigs, Gov. 


Freedom, 


1851 


145 


Ophelia, 


New Albany, 


1850 


289 


Malone, Fanny 


Elizabeth, 


1852 


87 


Opelousas, 


do. 


1852 


101 


Mail, U. S. 


do. 


1852 


196 


Orleans, 


do. 


1852 


401 


Monticello, 


Freedom, 


1852 


117 


Ohio, No. 2 


Marietta, 


1855 


197 


McFaden, Jno. 


McKeesport, 


1852 


222 


Ohio Belle, 


Madison, 


1855 


406 


Mar, Helen 


California, 


1852 


180 


Oceana, 


St, Louis, 


1854 


609 


Manchester, 


Brownsville, 


1853 


293 


Ogden, E. A, 


.do. 


1855 


400 


Michigan. 


Elizabeth, 


18.53 


482 


Patton, R. M. 


McKeesport, 


1854 


1.86 


Morgan, Col. 


Brownsville, 


1853 


8;! 


Persia, 


California, 


1852 


255 


Magnolia, 


Freedom, 


1853 


120 


Prairie City, 


do. 


1852 


302 


Montnuk, 


California, 


1853 


237 


Park, James, 


do. 


1851 


258 


Mansfield, 


Belle Vernon, 


1854 


160 


Philadelphia, 


Shousetown, 


1854 


6U1 



284 



LIST OF STEAMBOATS. 



Names. 


Where Built. 


■=3 





Names. 


Where Built. 


0^ 


1. 






^M 


a 






^n 


g 


Pennsylvania, 


Shousetown, 


1854 


486 


Star of the West, 


McKeesport, 


1855 


435 


Parthenia, 


California, 


1854 


154 


St. Louis, 


Brownsville, 


1855 


192 


Progress, 


Shousetown, 


1854 


217 


Sparhawk, G. W, 


Wheeling, 


1851 


243 


Prairie Rose, 


Brownsville, 


1854 


248 


Sciota, 2 


Cincinnati, 


1851 


266 


Princeton, 


Wellsville, 


1854 


96 


Sydonia, 


do. 


1851 


235 


Pringle, J. S. 


Brownsville, 


1854 


307 


Swallow, 


do. 


1851 


337 


Poe, Jacob 


Freedom, 


1855 


201 


Stokes, K.K.,Gen. 


do. 


1852 


140 


Prairie Bird, 


Jefifersonville, 


1853 


66 


Sparhawk, Fanny 


do. 


1852 


259 


Paull, James 


Fulton, 


1853 


70 


Susquehanna, 


Elizabeth, 


1852 


404 


Philips, Wm. 


Elizabeth, 


1852 


67 


Sun, 


Cincinnati, 


1852 


158 


Princess, 


Cincinnati, 


1855 


716 


Strader, Jacob 


do. 


1853 


906 


Planter, 


New Albany, 


1852 


182 


Seventy-six, 


do. 


1854 


267 


Pittsburgh, 


Shousetown, 


1851 


609 


Switzerland, 


do. 


1854 


413 


Pontiac, 


Cincinnati, 


1850 


269 


Stark, Molly 


do. 


1855 


128 


Post Boy, 


do. 


1851 


158 


St. Paul, 


Wheeling, 


1852 


•226 


Pearl, 


do. 


1861 


184 


Somers, H. M. 


Evansville, 


1851 


116 


Philips, 


Pittsburgh, 


1848 


67 


Summit, 


Brownsville, 


1850 


144 


Pike, 


Cincinnati, 


1852 


245 


Southerner, 


Jeffersonville, 


1853 


393 


Powell, R. W. 


New Albany, 


1855 


350 


Sherman, W. A. 


New Albany, 


1855 


195 


Polar Star, 


St. Louis, 


1852 


310 


Sophia, 


Louisville, 


1852 


42 


Pounder, 


Marietta, 


1853 


31 


Scott, Thos. 


Elizabeth, 


1849 


50 


Quaker City, 


California, 


1863 


214 


Swan, Thos. 


Wheeling, 


1853 


661 


Queen of the West 


Cincinnati, 


1854 


407 


Shylock, 


Nashville, 


1852 


45 


Retrieve, 


Elizabeth, 


1850 


204 


Simpson, John 


Louisville. 


1850 


228 


Rockaway, 2 


do. 


1850 


325 


Shriver, Thos. 


McKeesport, 


1850 


15-t 


Ranger, 2 


West Newton, 


1850 


38 


St. Charles, 


Cincinnati, 


1850 


311 


Regulator, 


Shousetown, 


1851 


156 


Storm, 


do. 


1848 


247 


Ruby, 


West Elizabeth, 


1851 


163 


Southern Belle, 


Louisville, 


1861 


525 


Bay, Thos. P. 


Brownsville, 


1852 


66 


Stacy, D. S. 


do. 


1852 


377 


Return, 


do. 


1852 


219 


Sweney, W. P. 


do. 


1852 


200 


Royal Arch, 


West Elizabeth, 


1852 


213 


St. Paul, 


St. Louis, 


1846 


358 


Rescue, 


Shousetown, 


1853 


169 


Sonora, 


do. 


1861 


363 


Rosalie, 


Brownsville, 


1854 


158 


Sass, R. F. 


Pittsburgh, 


1855 


238 


Ranchero, 


Freedom, 


1854 


207 


Sovereign, 


Shousetown, 


1855 


337 


Rochester, 


Belle Vernon, 


1855 


199 


Sarchet. Kate 


Louisville, 


1855 


184 


Reliance, 


Shousetown, 


1855 


167 


Swan, 


do. 


1856 


192 


Red Fox, 


Pittsburgh, 


1855 


78 


Sangamon, 


New Albany, 


1853 


86 


Red River, 


Marietta, 


1851 


277 


Stella Blanch, 


Paducah, 


1853 


203 


Raymond, James 


Cincinnati, 


1853 


294 


St. Mary, 


St. Louis, 


1855 


276 


Republic, 


Brownsville, 


1854 


110 


Trenton, 


Monongahela, 


1851 


144 


Rainbow, ^ 


New Albany, 


1854 


487 


Twin City, 


California, 


1852 


197 


Reindeer, 


do. 


1851 


409 


Troy, 


Brownsville, 


1852 


97 


Raven, 


McKeesport, 


1852 


96 


Tornado, 


do. 


1853 


93 


Rodolph, 


Madison, 


1855 


273 


Time and Tide, 


Freedom, 


1853 


131 


Rock City, 


Nashville, 


1854 


147 


Tropic, 


Brownsville, 


1853 


242 


Robertson, Dr. 


do. 


1854 


226 


Tennessee, 


Be.le Vernon, 


1853 


69 


Relf, J. M. 


Louisville, 


1851 


158 


Tampa, 


W. Brownsville, 


1853 


.190 


Rosa, 


do. 


1851 


265 


Two Brothers, 


California, 


1854 


193 


Runaway, 


Alexandria, 


1853 


91 


Tigress, 


Brownsville, 


1854 


176 


Republic, 


New Albany, 


1854 


747 


Tweed, J. P. 


Cincinnati, 


1861 


315 


Statesman, 


Brownsville, 


1851 


250 


Tiber, 


Marietta, 


1851 


184 


Saranak, 


do. 


1851 


352 


Tecumseh, 


Cincinnati, 


1852 


418 


Salem, 


Monongahela, 


1851 


149 


Telegraph, 3 


do. 


1853 


760 


Swamp Fox, 


Shousetown, 


1851 


281 


Thomas, N. W. 


do. 


1853 


419 


Susquehanna, 


Elizabeth, 


1852 


289 


Tennessee Bellei 


Paducah, 


1855 


248 


Simonds, John 


Freedom, 


1852 


1024 


Tishomingo, 


New Albany, 


1852 


188 


St. Clair, 


Elizabeth, 


1852 


321 


Tatum, David 


Louisville, 


1855 


374 


St. Nicholas, 


do. 


1863 


667 


Trabue, James 


do. 


1854 


244 


Snowden, Sam. 


McKeesport, 


1853 


175 


Tompkins, John 


do. 


1865 


191 


Streider, Jno. 


California, 


1852 


235 


Trenton, 


Monongahela, 


1851 


154 


South Carolina, 


Brownsville, 


1853 


194 


Trabue, S. F. J. 


New Albany, 


1854 


677 


San Antonia, 


Freedom, 


1854 


129 


Touro, Judah 


do. 


1864 


333 


Sultan, 


Mckeesport, 


1854 


339 


T. C. Twichell, 


do. 


1866 


456 


Sea Gull, 


Jeffersonville, 


1854 


187 


Tempest, 


St. Louis, 


1846 


211 


Sbangiss, 


California, 


1854 


185 


Tiger, 


Sauk County, 


1849 


84 


Swallow, 


do. 


1854 


198 


Toledo, No. 2 


Jersey City, 


1851 


81 


Silver Wave, 


Glasgo, W. 


1865 


245 


Unicorn, 


Brownsville, 


1853 


189 



LIST OF STEAMBOATS". 



285 



Names. 


Where Built. 


•«1 


M 

a 


Kamea. 


Where Bnilt 


a ^ 




3 






is« 


o 
H 

209 






is« 




Union, 


Cincinnati, 


1852 


Walsh, Edward, 


Madison, 


1855 


598 


Umpire, j 


do. 


1S55 


111 


White, L>uvid 


do. 


1853 


636 


Uncle Sam, 


do. 


185;? 


2f>l 


Ward, Robt. J. 


New Albany, 


1853 


931 


Umpire, 


Nashville, 


1854 


125 


Wathen, A. 


Jeffersonville, ' 


1853 


158 


Union, 


Wellsville, 


184fi 


31 


Watts, Emma 


Faducah, 


1853 


111 


Uncle Sam, 


Louisville, 


1848 


741 


Wallis, P. C. 


Louisville, 


1S55 


230 


Vinton, S. F. 


Lawrence Co., 


1850 


284 


Wide-awake, 


Wellsville, 


1855 


40 


Venture, 


Elizabeth, 


1851 


87 


Woodruff, Jas. E. 


New Albany, 


1855 


512 


Virginia, 


West Elizabeth, 


1852 


643 


West, Sallie 


Louisville, 


1853 


286 


Vienna, 


Monongahela, 


185;? 


170 


Wright, H. M. 


Jeffersonville, 


1852 


356 


Vermont, 


West Elizabeth, 


1848 


161 


Wenona, 


St. Louis, 


1852 


247 


Virogua, 


Monongahela, 


1841) 


92 


Woodside, AV. G. 


Moundville, 


1855 


197 


Victoria, 


Louisville, 


1855 


161 


Wallace, Sir Wm. 


Pittsburgh, 


1855 


255 


Vernon, Die 


St. Louis, 


1850 


447 


Wenona, 


St. Louis, 


1852 


249 


Winchester, 


Freedom, 


1851 


222 


Wave, 


Elizabethtown, 


1848 


89 


Watt, Jumes 


Monongahela, 


18o:> 


"79 


Westener, 


St. Louis, 


1853 


462 


Washington City, 


Freedom, 


1852 282 


Winchester, 


Freedom, 


1851 


180 


Wilson, Alex. 


Belle Vernon, 


1854,215 


Wisconsin, 


Rock Island, 


1849 


140 


Winefred, 


Elizabeth, 


1854 


126 


White Cliffs, 


Little River, 


1854 


160 


Wenona, 


Belle Vernon, 


1855 


171 


Yeatraan, W. T. 


Freedom, 


1852 


165 


Whiteman, Lewis 


Cincinnati, 


1851 


.?19 


York State, 


Brownsville, 


1852 


247 


Winslow, R. H. 


Newport, 


1851 


3:?5 


Young America, 


Monongahela, 


1853 


127 


Wilcox, 


Cincinnati, 


1851 


260 


Yorktown, 


Pittsburgh, 


1853 


144 


White River, 


do. 


1852 


71 


Young Sam. 


Shousetown, 


1855 


165 


Wetumpka, 


do. 


1852 


313 


Yorktown, 


Cincinnati, 


1848 


298 


Wood, Aurilla, 


Wheeling, 


1852 


91 


Yuba, 


Murraysville, 


1852 


348 


Wayne, Mattie, 


Cincinnati, 


1852 


335 


Young, Wm. C. 


Louisville, 


1854 


199 


West, Charlie 


do. 


185;? 


286 


Yazoo Belle, 


Jeffersonville, 


1855 


138 


War Eagle, 


Fulton, 


1854 


297 


Zanesvilie, 


Zanesvilie, 


1860 


71 


Windsor, 


Fuiton^ 


1854 


200 











% fist 0f SteamWats at HloHIt. 







a^ 


1 






^ 


Si 


Names. 


Where Built. 


•2 3 


a 


Names. 


Where Built. 


■=■% 


a 






?« 


a 






^« 


a 
H 


Wilson, 


Cincinnati, 


1851 


260 


Sallie Spann, 


Jeffersonville, 


1852 


190 


Emma Watts, 


Paducah, 


1851 


111 


Magnolia, 


do. 


1852 


326 


Jeanette, 


Elizabeth, 


1855 


144 


Cuba, 


Louisville, 


1856 


286 


Advance, 


Shousetown, 


1853 


166 


Messenger, 


do. 


1852 


390 


Benj. Lee, 


Cincinnati, 


1852 


122 


Heroine, 


Brownsville, 


1851 


94 


Bloomer, 


Louisville, 


1852 


70 


Octavia, 


Jeffersonville, 


1852 


185 


Pink Toney, 


do. 


1852 


206 


Forest Monarch, 


New Albany, 


1848 


215 


S. S. Proutiss, 


do. 


1854 


272 


Sallie Carson, 


do. 


1852 


206 


Rescue, 


Cincinnati, 


1854 


76 


P. Dal man. 


Louisville, 


1851 


365 


Impire, 


California, 


1854 


153 


Col. Fremont, 


Elizabethtown, 


1850 


75 


Fairfield, 


Freedom, 


1854 


157 


Emperor, 


Jeffersonville, 


1848 


397 


Isabella, 


Jeffersonville, 


1849 


249 


Coreo, 


New Albany, 


1847 


90 


Azile, 


New Albany, 


1852 


132 


Clara, 


Baltimore, 


1841 


94 


J. R. Thompson, 


New Orleans, 


1851 


160 


Champion, 


Cincinnati, 


185;'. 


158 


Madison, 


Memphis, 


1852 


169 


W. W. Fry, 


Jeffersonville, 


1 849 


165 


Illinois Belle, 


McKeesport, 


1854 


148 


Fashion, 


New Albany, 


1851 


296 


Cuba, 


Mobile, 


1856 


42 


Belle Gates, 


do. 


1851 


278 


W. Jones. Jr., 


do. 


1853 


391 


Lucy Boll, 


do. 


1853 


170 


Wild Duck, 


Bilori, 


1850 


26 


Col. Clay, 


New Orleans, 


1851 


296 


Montgoinory, 


Cincinnati, 


1851 


315 


Magyar, 


Jeffersonville, 


1849 


125 


Jennie Beale, 


New Albany, 


1852 


231 


Junior, 


Smitblaud, 


1852 


192 


Empress, 


do. 


1850 


304 


Pratt, ^i 


Report, 


1847 


293 


Aerial, 


Jeffersonville, 


1854 


169 


Swan, 


Louisville, 


1850 


444 


Eliza Battle, 


New Albany, 


1852 


316 


Natchez, 


New Orleans, 


1853 


383 


Cremona, 


do. . 


1852 


268 


Caaouchet, 


Providence, 


1855 


147 



286 ' LIST OF STEAMBOATS i 

Besides forty-one boats on the stocks nearly completed. The actual carrying capacity of 
the boats here given, are about one-third more than the Custom-house measurement, which 
fvould make at a low estimate, the total tonnage in the Western rivers, 442,663 tons, and cost- 
ing over $19,000,000. 



- 68,400 Tons. 




- 41,000 " 




- 14,821 " 




- 51,212 " 




- 148,120 " 




- 111,140 '« 






434,693 




- 


- 442,663 



Humhr of §Guh an tl^t f ahs. 

120 Steamers, - - - , 

118 Propellers, . - . ■ 

40 Barques, - - - . 

211 Brigs, - . - . - 

608 Schooners, - - « ■ 
290 Sloops and Scows, 

Tonnage, . . - 

Total tonnage on the Western RiverSf - 

Total Tonnage, ....... 877,356 

Costing $16,198,421. 

DIMENSIONS OF THE AMERICAN LAKES. 

The greatest length of Lake Superior is 438 miles. The greatest breadth is 166 miles. 
Mean depth, 986 feet. Elevation, 620 feet. Area, 33,000 square miles. 

The greatest length of Lake Michigan is 364 miles. Its greatest breadth, 110 miles. Mean 
depth, 869 feet. Elevation, 590 feet. Area, 24,000 square miles. 

The greatest length of Lake Huron is 300 miles. Its greatest breadth, 163 miles. Moan 
depth, 811 feet. Elevation, 578 feet. Area, 21,000 square miles. 

The greatest length of Lake Erie is 256 miles. Its greatest breadth, 81 miles. Its mean 
depth, 86 feet. Elevation, 560 feet. Area, 68,000 sqare miles. 

The greatest length of Lake Ontario is 184 miles. Its greatest breadth, 65 miles. Its mean 
depth, 510 feet. Elevation, 264 feet. Area, 61,000 square miles. The total length of all five 
Lakes is nearly 1600 miles, covering an area altogether of upwards of 900,000 square miles. 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



287 



EXPLOSION OF THE GLENCOE. 

On tlio 3d day of April, 1852, the Glencoe, Captain Lee, from New 
Orleans, arrived at St. Louis, and had just been moored at the levee, 
foot of Chestnut street, when three of the boilers exploded, with the 
most appalling and destructive effects. The sound of the explosion 
was heard in the most remote quarters of the city ; in the neighbor- 
hood of the levee the shock was like that of an earthquake, the houses 
for several squares around appeared to reel under the force of the con- 
cussion. The boat was crowded with people at the time ; the passen- 
c^ers were en^'ajrod in lookinf:^ after their bagcra";e, and numbers of 
citizens, hotel-runners, hackmen, &c., had pressed into the boat. 
There was a fearful loss of life, but the names and number of the 
killed are beyond the scope of 'inquiry, as many of the victims were 
strangers ; the bodies of a large number blown overboard were not 
recovered from the water, and many of the dead were so shockingly 
disfigured or torn to pieces that all recognition was out of the ques- 
tion. Fragments of wood, iron, and dead bodies were thrown to a 
surprising distance. 

The shock of the explosion drove the steamer far out into the river, 
and immediately afterwards she took fire, the furnaces having been 
dismantled, and the burniner fuel scattered over the decks. As the 




EXPLOSION OF THB OLENCOK. 



Glencoe floated down the stream, she presented a frightful spectacle. 
The whole forward part of the boat to the wheel-house, and down to 
the water line, had been swept away, and all the after-part was a com- 
mingled mass of timbers, freight, and human bodies heaped together 



288 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

in tlie wildest confusion. The fire burned fiercely and spread rapidly. 
The spectators on the shore beheld men, women and children running, 
with phrensied gestures, from one part of the burning steamer to 
another, seeking some means of escape from the dreadful death which 
threatened them — some who had been caught between the falling tim- 
bers were writhing in agony, making inefi'ectual efi"orts to extricate 
themselves, and imploring others to assist them. Numbers of the 
crew and passengers were compelled by the advancing flames to throw 
themselves overboard ; some of these succeeded in reaching the shore, 
but many of them were drowned. 

In the meantime, several small boats were actively engaged in res- 
cuing the drowning people, and a considerable number were saved in 
this manner. The wreck finally lodged at the foot of Poplar street, 
where it burned to the water's edge, and then sunk, carrying down 
with it the ashes and bones of the dead. Near the spot where the 
explosion took place many dead bodies and dying persons were ex- 
tended on the levee. Thirteen mutilated corpses were soon after re- 
moved to the office of the Board of Health, that being the most con- 
venient place where they could be deposited. Twenty or thirty of the 
wounded were conveyed to the Sisters' Hospital. Others who were 
less injured, some with their faces scalded or blackened by the fire, 
"were running about the levee in a frantic manner, crying for assist- 
ance. The dead bodies of five persons who had been blown from the 
deck of the Glencoe were found on the steamer Cataract. They were 
dreadfully mangled, the limbs in some cases being torn from the 
trunk — heads were mashed and disfigured to a degree which defied all 
attempts at identification. The body of a woman was found on the 
levee stretched across a marble slab, (the top of a table which had 
also been blown from the boat ;) every bone in this corpse was broken, 
and " the limbs," says an eye-witness, " were so badly mangled that 
they could scarcely hang together." 

The body of Mr. John Denny, first clerk of the Glencoe, was found 
on the hurricane deck of the steamer Western World. Few external 
injuries were found on this body, but life was totally extinct. The 
body of a little girl, with the legs torn off, was recovered from the 
river. The dissevered leg of a man was picked up on the side walk in 
Commercial street ; the boot which remained on the limb, led to the 
recognition thereof as a part of the mortal remains of William Brennan, 
one of the engineers. Of the thirteen wounded persons who were sent 
to the hospital, three died during the night, and scarcely any of the 
others were believed to be curable. 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 289 

Capt. Lee, his ladj and one of his children, left the boat as soon as 
she landed, and a very few minutes before the explosion. The Cap- 
tain's little son, ten years of age, who remained on board, was killed. 
Mr. A. R. Jones, a merchant of St. Louis, was instrumental in savins- 
a great number of lives. He obtained a yawl, and approached the 
burning boat near enough to take off a great many passengers. As an 
acknowledgment of his humane services in the time of danger and af- 
fliction, the steamboat men of St. Louis presented Mr. Jones with a 
handsome silver mug, bearing a suitable inscription. 

List of tue Killed. — John Denny, first clerk of the Glencoe ; 
Henry Balsar, pilot ; John Curtis Lee, son of the Captain, aged ten 
years ; Edward McCarty, hack driver, St. Louis ; Mrs. Schcnil, pas- 
senger, Memphis, Tcnn. ; (every bone in her body was broken, as 
mentioned in the preceding narrative ;) John Grey,* aged 12 years, a 
pedlar boy, from Memphis ; William Brennan, assistant engineer ; a 
family, consisting of a man, his wife and tlfree female children, names 
unknown ; George W. Rolfe, runner at the American Hotel, St. Louis; 
David Cree, Belfast, Ireland ; George Reeder and James Wile, runners 
at the Virginia. Hotel ; a woman, name unknown ; and many others, 
whose bodies could not be identified ; making a total of sixty killed. 

Badly Wounded. — William Callahan, fireman : Jesse H. Harrin"'- 
ton, passenger, Cook county, HI. ; Samuel High, a citizen of St. 
Louis, who wont on board after the boat arrived ; Thomas Carroll, pas- 
senger, Liverpool, England ; Frederick W, Burlog, German emigrant; 
Thomas Donahoe, Dubuque, Iowa ; Patrick McLaughlin, New York ; 
Daniel B. Hcnman, Gibson county, 111. ; James McLean, Ohio ; 
^lichael Dunn, one of the boat's crew ; Sarah Matthews, passenger, 
aged thirteen, mortally wounded ; W. B. Catherwright, passenger, Mis- 
sissippi ; William Brathwed, an Englishman ; (he had with him $1,900 
in specie ;) George Buchanan, engineer. 

Slightly Wounded. — Mr. Lane, bar-keeper ; Mr. Studdiford, Ohio; 
Francis Cafferty, hotel runner ; Thomas Foley, assistant engineer. 

Very few of those who were badly wounded lived twenty-four hours 

after the accident. In addition to those mentioned in the forefToinof 

o o 

list, some of the wounded were conveyed away by their friends, and 
their names were not ascertained. 

Two or three steamboats which lay near the Glencoe, were much 
damaged by the explosion. A lady from Illinois was killed in her 
state-room in the steamer Cataract, which lay next to the Glencoe. 
19 



290 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



EXPLOSION OF THE SALUDA. 

The Saluda exploded on Missouri river, near Lexington, April 9tli, 
1852. It appears that this boat had been detained in the neighbor- 
hood of Lexington for four days, by a strong tide. Several of her pas- 
sengers left her to seek other conveyance. On the day above men- 
tioned, the Captain made another effort to stem the current. The 
steamer left the landing at half past one o'clock, A. M., and five min- 
utes after, the boilers exploded with such tremendous effect that the 



■'"^-■■'i 



EXPLOSION OP THE 



cabin and all the Tvood-work forward of the wheel-house were com- 
pletely demolished, and not a piece of timber was left above the guards. 
The boat sunk within a fevf minutes. The books were all lost, and the 
names of all the passengers who were killed by the explosion or who 
sunk with the boat could not be ascertained. The number of those vrho 
perished is estimated at one hundred. 

The commander, Capt. Belt, who was on the' hurricane roof, was 
blown high in the air, and fell against the side of a hill in Lexington, 
at least one hundred feet from the wreck. The second clerk^ Mr. John 
Blackburn, was standing on the boiler-deck, and was also blown on 
shore, to a considerable distance from the boat. He was taken up 
dead. It may be mentioned as a melancholy coincidence, that a 
brother of this gentleman, (E. C. Blackburn,) was killed by the acci- 
dent on the Pacific railroad in November, 1855. Tiicy were both 
highly esteemed by all who knew them. The mutilated bodies of a 
large number of the passengers of the Saluda were found in the streets 
of Lexington. Charles Labarge and Louis Gareth, the pilots, and 
Messrs. Clancy and Evans, the engineers, were lost. Their bodies were 
blown into the river, and were never recovered. One of the surviving 
passengers lost his wife and seven children. A lady was deprived of 



LLOYD S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS, 



291 



licr husband and three chihli-en. Such was the force of the explosion, 
that a part of the boiler passed throu_i];h a Avarehouse on the Avharf, and 
quite demolished it. The citizens of Lexington subscribed $1,000 for 
the relief of the sufferers. The accident is ascribed to the negligence 
of the engineer. 

Killed. — Mr. Layncll, second bar-keeper ; Mr. Nash and Mr. Mc- 
Clency ; E. S. Ilalfer, second engineer ; Mr. Loggett ; Mr. "Way- 
ley ; J. Brick ; Mrs. Dunbar and child ; Mrs. McGehas and child ; tvro 
children of Mr. Rollins ; two Messrs. Baylcy ; two second clerks; a 
first engineer ; two pilots ; Mr. ]\IcAllister ; W. II. Bridges ; -five 
firemen, and many others, names unknown. Many of those who per- 
ished were Mormons. 

Sixteen persons were wounded, two of them mortally ; names not 
mentioned. 



COLLISIOX OF THE SULTAXA AND ^lARIA. 

These boats came in collision on the Mississippi, seven miles below 
Natchez, November 21, 1846. The bow of the Sultana struck the 
Maria opposite her boilers, throwing them out of their place, and 
breaking the connection pipe and much of the wood-work, causing the 




COLLISION OF THE SULTANA AND MARIA. 

boat to sink within five minutes. About thirty lives were lost, and 
several persons were scalded with more or less severity. 

Killed. — Garret Bennis, James Slemmon, Wm. Morcland, John 
Ross, Dennis McArtney, John Stearalon, Wm. English, Frank Roberts, 
Peter Mattis, Peter Valenicr, and perhaps twenty others, names un- 
known. 

Wounded. — Wm. Leahey, Samuel Buzzy, Patrick Kcnncy, John 
B. Fleminir. 



Jfast €xmt Ulah bg Sttumkats 



THE WESTERN RIVEES. 



FROM NEW ORLEANS TO LOUISVILLE— DISTANCE 1480 MILES. 



May, 1815, Steamer Enterprise made the Trip in 



April, 1817 


« 


Washington 


Sept., 1817 


it 


Slielby 


May, 1819 


« 


Paragon 


Nov., 1823 


« 


Tecumseh 


April, 1834 


« 


Tuacarora 


Nov., 1837 


« 


General Brown 


<( <( 


« 


Randolph 


u u 


(( 


Empress 


Dec., 1837 


(( 


Sultana 


April, 1840 


(C 


Edward Shippen 


" 1842 


« 


Belle of the West 


« 1843 


« 


Duke of Orleans 


« 1844 


« 


Sultana 


May, 1849 


(( 


Bostona 


June, 1861 


« 


Belle Key 


May, 1852 


« 


Reindeer 


« « 


« 


Eclipse 


May, 1853 


« 


A. L. Shotwell 



Days. 


Hours. 


Minutes. 


25 


2 


40 


25 


— 


— 


20 


4 


20 


18 


10 


— 


8 


4 


— 


7 


16 


— 


6 


22 


— 


6 


22 


— 


6 


17 


— 


6 


15 


— 


5 


14 


— ' 


6 


14 


— 


5 


23 


— 


5 


12 


— 


5 


8 


— 


4 


23 


— 


4 


20 


45 


4 


18 


— 


4 


10 


20 



And in the same month and year, the steamer Eclipse, E. T. Sturgeon, Master, made the 
quickest time on record ; and when we take into consideration the low water, swift current, 
and other obstacles she met with, we may safely set her down as the fastest boat in the woeld. 



ECLIPSE'S TIME FROM NEW ORLEANS TO 



Donaldsonville 
Baton Rouge 
Natchez 
Grand Gulf 
Vicksburgh - 
Columbia 
Napoleon 
Helena - 
Memphis 
Cairo 

Evansville - 
Louisville 









Days. 


Hours. 


Minutes. 


. 


. 




— 


5 


42 


. 




. 


— 


9 


27 


. 


. 




— 


19 


46 


• , 




. 


-^ 


24 


25 


. 


• 




— 


23 


11 


. , . 




. 


— 


40 


8 


. 


. 




— 


44 


12 


. 




. 


2 


3 


38 


• 






2 


9 


55 


. . 




. 


3 


4 


4 


. y 


. 




3 


18 


24 


. 




« 


4 


9 


30 



FROM NEW ORLEANS TO ST. LOUIS-DISTANCE 1200 MILES. 

Days. Hours. MInntes. 
1840, Steamer J. M. White made the Trip in 3 23 — 

(292) 



FAST TIME ON WESTERN RIVERS. 



29a 



FROM NEW ORLEANS TO NATCHEZ— DISTANCE 300 MILES. 



May, 


1814, 


Steamer Orleans made thi 


July, 


1814 


" 


Comet 


May, 


1S15 


« 


Enterprise 


April 


, 1S17 


« 


Washington 


Sept., 


1817 


•< 


Shelby 


May, 


1819 


« 


Paragon 


Nov., 


1828 


i< 


Tecumseh 


April, 


, 1834 


tt 


Tuscarora 


Aug., 


1838 


tt 


Natchez 


« 


1840 


i< 


Edward Shippcn 


u 


1842 


tt 


Belle of the West 


tt 


1844 


tt 


Old Sultana 


tt 


1851 


tt 


Magnolia 


May, 


1853 


tt 


A. L. Shotwcll 


« 


1853 


tt 


Southern Belle 


cc 


1853 


tt 


Princess, No. 4 


u 


1853 


tt 


Eclipse 


Aug., 


1855 


tt 


New Princess 


it 


1855 


tt 


New Natchez 



Daj-s. 


Uours. 


Minutes. 


6 


6 


40 


5 


10 


— 


4 
4 
3 


11 


20 


20 





3 


8 


— 


3 


1 


20 


1 


21 


— 


1 


17 


— 


1 


8 


— 


1 


18 


— 


— 


19 


45 


— 


19 


50 


— 


19 


49 


— 


20 


3 


— 


20 


26 


— 


19 


47 


— 


18 


53 


— 


17 


30 



FROM NEW ORLEANS TO CAIRO, MOUTH OE THE OHIO RIVER— DISTANCE 

1000 MILES. 

, Days. Hours. Jlinntcs. 

May, 1S53, Steamer Eclipse made the Trip in 3 4 4 

" " A. L. Shotwell " 3 3 40 



FROM LOUISVILLE TO CINCINNATI— DISTANCE 150 MILES, 

Days, 
1 
1 



1818, Steamer General Piko made the Trip in 



1819 


« 


Paragon 


1822 


<( 


Wheeling Packet 


1837 


ti 


Moselle 


1843 


tt 


Duke of Orleans 


1843 


It 


Congress 


1846 


tt 


Benj. Franklin, No. 6 


1852. 


tt 


Alleghany 


1852 . 


tt 


Pittsburgh 


1853 


tt 


Telegraph, No. 3 



[ours. 
16 


Minul 


14 


20 


10 


— 


12 


— 


12 


— 


12 


20 


11 


45 


10 


38 


10 


23 


9 


52 


[LES. 

49 hours. 


. 47 


tt 


m 


it 


- 43 


It 



FROM LOUISVILLE TO ST LOUIS— DISTANCE 750 MILES, 
1843, Steamer Congress made the Trip in - 
1854 " Pike " 

1854 " Northerner " - - 

1855 " Southerner " - - 

FROM ST. LOUIS TO ALTON— DISTANCE 25 MILES. 
1853, Steamer Altona made the Trip in 1 hour and 25 minutes. 



FROM ST. LOUIS TO ST. JOSEPH, (MO. RIVER,)— DISTANCE 590 MILES. 
1853, Steamer Polar Star made the Trip in 64 hours. 

FROM CINCINNATI TO PITTSBURGH- DISTANCE 480 MILES. 
1850, Steamer Telegraph, No. 2, made the Trip in 41 hours. 

1851 " Buckeye State " 40 " 

1852 " Pittsburgh " 39 " 



MINOE DISASTERS. 



CoNVOT. — The stenmboat Convoy was burnt ten miles above Natchez, April 29th, 1849. Two 
persons, who jumped overboard, were drowned. The boat was a total loss. 

Andrew Fulton. — The steamboat Andrew Fulton, on her way from New Orleans to St. 
Louis, was wrecked on the Plateau Rocks, March 1st, 1849. Three passengers were drowned. 

Keokuk. — Tho steamboat Keokuk was snagged at the foot of St. Genevieve island, on the 
Mississippi, August 29th, 1814. She sunk in three fathoms water. One cabin passenger, and 
ten or twelve deck passengers, names unknown, were drowned. 

Glide. — The steamboat Glide, Capt. Delzell, exploded on the Mississippi, August 10th, 1844. 
A passenger was blown overboard by the explosion, and no effort was made by the crew to 
save him, although he floated for some time, and called for assistance. The Glide had no small 
boat. 

St. Charles. — The steam ferry boat St. Charles, exploded near the Levee at St. Louis, 
December 7th, 1844. "Mr. Bell, a passenger, was mortally wounded; and several other persons 
were slightly injured. 

Western. — The steamboat Western, on her way from Pittsburgh to St. Louis, came in col- 
lision with the steamer Aliquippa, which struck her in the middle and nearly cut her in two. 
Several children were drowned. The boat cost $16,000, and was insured for $10,000. 

Shark. — The tow-boat Shark exploded near New Orleans, .January 6th, 1846. The Captain's 
brother, Mr. Whon, was instantlj' killed. Mr. Kew, first engineer, and a fireman, were mortally 
wounded. Three other persons were badly scalded. 

Stren. — The steamboat Syren exploded near Chattahoochie, February Sth, 1845, while 
taking in freight. Ten of tho crew wore killed. The boat sunk and the cargo was all lost. 

Red Rover. — The steamboat Red Rover came in collision with the steamer Ruby at Fort 
Stoddart, on the Alabama river, forty miles above Mobile, March 9th, 1845. The Ruby sunk 
immediately, with all her freight and $10,000 in specie. Two persons were drowned. 

Persian. — The steam tow-boat Persian exploded twenty-two miles below New Orleans, Oc- 
tober 24th, 1845. C. Cruler, first engineer, and George Clinton, mate, were killed instantly ; 
and eight persons were badly scalded. 

Potomac. — The steamboat Potomac, from New Orleans, bound for Nashville, exploded at 
Choctaw Pass, January 9th, 1845. Two deck hands were killed, and three other persons 
seriously injured. 

Simon Kenton. — The steamboat Simon Kenton burst a connection-pipe, August 2Sth, 184T, 
while lying at tho wharf at St. Louis. A German woman attempted to jump into tho yawl 
with her infant in her arms. The child fell into the river and was drowned. Four persons were 
scalded severely. 

Cleveland. — The steamboat Cleveland, running between Pittsburgh and Beaver, collapsed 
two flues, June 14th, 1844. The cook and a colored man were killed, and five persons were 
dangerously wounded. 

New ILvMPsniRE. — The steamboat Now Hampshire, on her way from New Orleans to Little 
Rock, Ark., May 1st, 1849, exploded all her boilers, forty miles below the place last men- 
tioned. Twelve persons were killed, viz. : George T. Allen, first clerk; Alexander McComas, 
pilot; James Van Dyke, mate ; four negro firemen, awheel man, the second steward, a cabin- 
boy, Charles Radcliffe, carpenter, Mr. Berring, a cabin passenger, and a deck band, name un- 
known. The boat was totally wrecked. 
(294) 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 295 

LoriBiiV^A. — Tho steamboat Louisiana cxploJed ono of her boiler?, August 12th, 1S44, 
killing seventeen persons, viz: 'William Smith, Henry Fiuloy, J. Goodman, John Henry and 
Jacob Cross, and twelve U. S. soldiers, names unknown. The explosion took place liftcen 
miles above Biiyou Sara. 

Swan — The steamer Swan burst two of her boilers near New Orleans, August 16th, 1844, 
killing William Andrews, pilot, Robert Elliott, bar-keeper, Peter Aimes, steersman, and a 
negro fireman. The Captain and several other persons wore badly scalded. 

Caspian. — Tho steamboat Caspian struck a snag at tho foot of Island No. 25 on tho Missis- 
sippi, December 11th, 1845. She sunk in fifteen feet water. Forty German emigrants were 
drowned. 

Dknizen. — The steamer Denizen, Capt. Rhodes, exploded thirty miles below Vicksburg, 
November ;{Oth, 1845. Capt. Rhodes was killed, and a cabin passenger badly wounded. 

Malon. — The steamer Malon sunk in tho Ohio river, near Paducah, September 12th, 1854, 
Thirty-five deck passengers and one cabin passenger were drowned. 

PucENix. — The steam tow-boat Phoenix blew up near Now Orleans, May 2flth, 1843, killing 
a Mr. Hall, and two other persons, names unknown. 

Pehuvia.v. — The steamer Peruvian burst all her boilers, June 7th, 183.3, while on her way 
from New Orleans to Louisville More than fifty persons were killed. 

Fashion No. 2. — The steamboat Fashion No. 2 collapsed a flue on the Monongahela river, 
near Pittsburgh, December 20th, 1850, killing Joseph Carroll and A. Lightle, passengers, 
Isaac Peebles, assistant engineer, a son of tho Captain, and James Louderback, fireman. 
Several persons were scalded. 

Fdsileer. — The steamer Fusileer exploded both boilers near Attakopas, on tho jMississippi 
rivtT, December 30th, 1S52. The first mate was killed ; the Captain was badly wounded. 

Hercules. — The steam tow-boat Hercules was badly damaged by coming in cont.act with 
tho brig Ermon, December 2Clh, 1823, on the JMississippi river, below Now Orleans. Three of 
the crew were drowned. 

FiNANCiEK. — The steamboat Financier exploded on tho Upper Mississippi, October 2d, 
1850, killing Mr.King, son of the Captain, and William Greene, second engineer. Tho car- 
penter and cabin-boy were scalded. 

Meteoii No. 3.--The Meteor No. 3, on her way from Red River to New Orleans, was 
burned to the water's edge and sunk fifty miles above the last named city, October 11th, 1850. 
Threo colored nien were drowned. 

Tippah. — The steamboat Tippah, on her way from Tallahatchie river to New Orleans, was 
burned twenty-five miles aWvo Vicksbiirgh, January 7th, 1852. The second engineer was 
drowned. Mrs. Butler, the Captain's wife, swam ashore. 

CoLUMECS. — The steamboat Columbus collapsed a fiuo on tho Mississippi, May Gth, 1850, 
killing ono man and wounding twelve others. 

May Queen. — The steamboat May Queen collapsed her flues on the Arkansas river, on 
February ICth, 1852. Twelve persons were killed, and seven were badl^' wounded. 

Mahy Kixgslani). — Tho steamboat JIary Kingsland exploded, for the third time in her his- 
tory, on the Istof March, 1852. George Ilainey, second engineer, and two others, names un- 
known, were killed; George Swilcr, pilot, was mortally wounded ; and several other persons 
were severely injured. 

Princess. — The steamer Princess was burned, two miles below Fort Ad.lms, on tho Jlissis- 
sippi, October 8th, 1851. Tho persons killed were, Mrs. Weise and child, and Miss Wilson, 
passengers; George Brantz, a deckhand, and five negroes. 

Magnolia and Malumka. — Tho steamers Magnolia and Malumka came in collision on tha 
Alabama river, February 16th, 1854. Threo lives were lost. 

Sylvester Webster. — Tho steamer Sylvester Webster capsized August ISth, 1854, on 
the Mississippi river, thirty-five miles below Now Orleans. Tho captain and two female pas- 
sengers were drowned. 

Buckeye State. — The steamer Buckeye State burst a steam-pipe on tho Ohio river, March 
25th, 1852, scalding threo passengers severely. One of them jumped overboard and was drowned. 



296 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

GiPSEY. — The steamer Gipsey was burned, December 7th, 1854, near the mouth of New 
river. Dr. Ilarker and his son and daughter perished in the flames. Four other persons were 
burned to death or drowned. 

Medore. — The steamer Medore blew up on the Jlississippi, April 12th, 1S42. John R. Boono 
was killed. 

Douglass. — The steamboat Douglass burst a steam-pipe, near New Madrid, mortally wound- 
ing a child of Dr. HofTmMn, and two children of Mrs. Jlontgomery. Mr. C. Lemard of Louis- 
ville, and a slave of Dr. Hoffman, were killed instantly. Several passengers were badly 
scalded. 

West Wind. — The steamer West Wind collapsed a flue at the mouth of the canal near Louis- 
ville. Killed, — Mrs. Dothart and sister, St. Louis ; Mr. Sadwood ; an old man from St. Louis, 
name unknown; Mr. Vidonc, St. Louis. Several passengers were wounded. 

Collision or the Farmer and Scioto Valley. — The steamers Farmer and Scioto Valley 
came in c^lision, November 20th, 1842, twenty miles below Louisville. The Farmer was sunk 
and three deck hands were drowned. 

MuNROE. — The steamer Munroe was sunk in the night of March 20th 1S54, ten miles above 
Natchez. Thirty persons were drowned. 

Collision of the Meteor and Paris. — The steamboat Meteor was struck by the Paris, 
abaft the wheel-house, August 24th, 1S4S, when five miles below Stevensport. The Meteor 
sunk immediately. Four or five German deck passengers were drowned. 

Brooklyn. — The steamboat Brooklyn collapsed a flue, March Cth, 1847, twenty miles below 
Vicksburg. P. Feinan, fireman, and 11. Concle, German passengers, were killed. 

Clinton. — The steamer Clinton was burned, March 23d, 1847, five miles above Bonne Care, 
on the Mississippi. Two deck passengers, the second mate, (Mr. AVearer,) the bar-keeper, the 
cook and the chambermaid, were lost. 

SuroN Kenton. — The steamer Simon Kenton, on her way from Quincey to St. Louis, April 
4th, 1847, broke a connection-pipe. A. Mead, deck hand, was mortally wounded. 

Collision of the Wji. R. King and Winona. — The steamers Wm. R. King and Winona 
came in collision on the Tombigbee river, February 5, 1847. The former was sunk and two 
persons were drowned. 

Medora. — The steamer Jledora exploded below Point Hudson, on the Mississippi river, 
March IS, 1847. Four persons were killed and three others were wounded. 

National. — The steamer National was burned at the mouth of Kentucky river, March 20, 
1847. The clerk was killed. 

Palmyra. — The steamer Palmj'ra struck a rock near the Upper Rapids, Mississippi river 
November .3, 1838. One life lost. 

Jajies Pitcher. — The steamer James Pitcher was burned to the water's edge, November 
29, 1846. One person killed. 

Wave. — The steamboat Wave was burned near Pern, on the Illinois river, Juno 21, 1837. 
A French gentleman, name unknown, was drowned. 

De Witt Clinton. — The steamboat De Witt Clinton, on her way from New Orleans to 
Pittsburgh, January 25, 1852, struck a snag eight miles below Memphis, and sunk in 15 feet 
v,-ater. All on board were drowned, except one fireman and the officers of the boat. Thirty- 
si.x lives were lost. 

Louisiana. — Tlie steamer Louisiana, while racing with another boat on Lake Pontcliartrain, 
May 7, 1849, collapsed a steam pipe. Four persons were killed instantly, and six others 
were badly scalded. 

Governor Bent. — The Governor Bent, an Arkansas river boat, exploded all her boflers 
near Island No. 76, on the Mississippi, May 12, 1849. One fireman was killed. A few mo- 
jnents before the explosion, all the crew were seated on the boiler-deck, when their attention 
was attracted to a rat, which they all pursued, except ono man, and ho was killed. Had the 
rat not appeared at that moment, many lives would have been lost. 

Wyandotte. — The steamer Wyandotte was totally wrecked on the Mississippi, above Vicks- 
burg, November 21, 1848, Thirty of the passengers and crew perished. 



LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. £97 

Collision of the Marengo and UAnnY IIill. — Tho steamers Marengo and Harry Hill 
came in violent contact, on tho Mississippi, below Natcliez, November 30, lSi8. The Marengo 
sunk and three of her crew were drowned. 

Ameuica. — The steamboat America exploded fifteen miles below Madison, Ind., on tho Ohio 
river, December 19, 1S48. Four persons were mortally wounded, and ten others were much 
injured. 

Charter Oak. — Tho steamboat Charter Oak was destroyed by fire, near Bailey's Landing, 
on the Mississippi river, April 12, 1848. Many of tho passengers were lost, and others se- 
verely wounded. 

Kenney. — The steamer Kenney exploded in the Tombigbco rivor, (Alabama,) Juno 5, lS-i8. 
Fifty of the crew and passengers were killed or missing. 

Collision op the Sultana and Gray Eagle. — A collision took place between the steamers 
Sultana and Gray Eagle, at Island No. 35, on tho Mississippi, June 13, 18i8. Two men be- 
longing to the Gray Eagle were killed and five were wounded. 

Hardee. — The steamer Hardee burst her connection pipes, on Missouri river, thirty miles 
above Weston, September 6, 1849. Captain G. Fishback was instantly killed ; Geo. Martia 
the pilot, was mortally wounded, and several others were badly scalded. 

Carrollton. — Tho steamer Carrollton, going from New Orleans to Vicksburg, was blown 
np near Baton Itougc, October 1, 1835. Eight persons were killed instantly, and seven others 
were mortally wounded. 

Big Hatchie. — The steamboat Big Hatchie exploded one of her boilers at Harmon's 
Landing, 100 miles above St. Louis, on the Mississippi, July 25, 1845. A passenger, named 
Hoylo, was instantly killed, and a son of Mr.' Ludlow, Manager of St. Charles Theatre, New 
Orleans, mortally wounded. Several other persons, names unknown, are supposed to have 
been killed. 

Collision of the R. B. Gilmore and Delaware. — The steamboat R. B. Gilmore was 
wrecked and sunk by coming in collision with tho steamboat Delaware, on the Ohio river, 
below Louisville, April 15, 1S3S. Several passengers, names not reported, were drowned. 

EuTAW. — The mail-boat Eutaw, running between Wheeling and Steubenvillo, collapsed a 
flue, April 23, 1838, causing the death of a fireman. Several persons were badly scalded. 

Dacotah. — The steamboat Dacotah exploded at Peoria, 111., August 20, 1851. She was 
bound for Minnesota. Eleven persons were killed, viz. : — Mr. Haywood and three children ; 
Wm. Baker, wife and child; H. Foster; C. Van Sycle ; three children of B. Wordsworth; H 
Bains and Wm. Mofl'att. 

Echo. — The steamboat Echo collapsed two flues at Bayou Sara, May 20, 1851, killing three 
of the crew, and wounding five others. 

Financier. — Tho steamer Financier exploded on the Mississippi, near Alton, October 12, 
1850. The mate and tho Captain's son were killed. Several of the crew were badly scalded. 

Duncan. — Tne steamer Duncan blew up on Savannah river, June 8, 1841, killing three ne- 
groes. The boat was burned and sunk. 

Pike. — The steamboat Pike was sunk, September 5, 1840, by coming in contact with tho 
steamer Fayette, two miles below Alton, 111. Seven persons were known to be lost. 

Farmer. — The steamboat Farmer collapsed a flue, on the Mississippi, above New Orleans, 
Nov. 2", 1840. Mr. Berry, second engineer, and a german deck passenger were killed. 

Chester. — The steamer Chester, Captain Cable, on her way from New Orleans to St. Louis, 
collapsed two flues, twenty miles above the first-named place, on tho first of July, 1840. The 
mate and a deck hand were blown overboard and drowned. 

Edna. — The steamboat Edna exploded, July 3d, 1842, at tho mouth of Missouri river. Fifty 
passengers, (German emigrants,) were mortally wounded. 

Amos Crocker. — The steamer Amos Crocker was sunk, April 27th, 1849, in Red Bayou. One 
life was lost. 

Embassy. — The steamboat Embassy, from Pittsburgh to St, Louis, collapsed two flues at 
Three Mile Island, June 9, 1849. Ten persons were killed and twenty-fivo wounded. 

Iron City. — Tho Iron City struck some floating ico near St. Louis, December 31st, 1848. 
Uer bow was broken so as to cause her to sink immediately. Five of the crew were drowned. 



298 



Lloyd's steamboat disasteks. 



BURNINa OF THE BULLETIN NO 2. 

The steamboat Bulletin No. 2, Capt. C. B. Church, was burned on 
the Mississippi river, near Islands No. 96 and 97, March 24th, 1855. 
A large quantity of cotton was among the freight, and this highly com- 
bustible article caused the flames to spread rapidly. The boat was run 
ashore as quickly as possible ; but as soon as she struck the bank, she 
bounded back again, and floated down the river until consumed to the 
level of the water. The surface of the river was covered with floating 
bales of ignited cotton ; and many persous who had leaped overboard, 
while attempting to save themselves by clinging to these fiery masses, 
were severely burned. One of the cabin passengers stated that he was 




BURNING OF THE BULLETIN NO. 



sitting on the hurricane deck when the fire first appeared, and before 
he could get a bucket of water to throw on it, the whole boat seemed 
to be in a blaze. If the force pumps had been in good order, (which 
was not the case,) the flames could easily have been suppressed. An 
eye-witness thinks that the boat and the lives of many passengers 
could have been saved, if gum clastic hose had been provided for suck 
an emergency. Certainly it shows shameful and criminal neglect on 
the part of the Captain or owners, when a steamer is Avithout such ap- 
paratus. While the boat was burning, the passengers were greatly ex- 
cited and dismayed ; but we have one instance of surprising coolness, 
whether it proceeded from courage or stupidity, we will not pretend to 
say. A gentleman was standing in the cabin with perfect composure 



Lloyd's- steamboat disasters. 299 

and apparent unconcern while the fire was making rapid progress 
in every direction. Capt. Church advised this stoical person to 
take off the door of a state room and endeavor to save himself thereon. 
"Make yourself easy, Captain," was the calm response, "I am safe 
enough !" And, sure enough, he was saved. This anecdote reminds 
us of one which is told of a celebrated gambler, who leaped from a 
burning boat into the Mississippi, exclaiming, " Now, gallows, save 
your own !" 

Some of the passengers of the Bulletin succeeded in leaping on shore 
from the forecastle at the moment the steamer struck the land ; but 
a large majority, who were in the after-part of the boat, were cut off 
from this means of escape. Capt. Church and all the other officers of the 
boat faithfully used every effort to save the passengers, and the Cap- 
tain remained so long on board for this purpose, that his own life 
nearly became the sacrifice of his fidelity. When driven by the flames 
from the last refuge on the wreck, he threw himself in the water. The 
boat had drifted out to such a distance from the shore, that he would 
infallibly have been drowned, had not a skiff, which happened to be 
near, come to his assistance. 

List of those who Perished. — Mr. Swick, Boston ; C. Denny, 
deck hand ; J. B. Williamson, New York ; Jesper Brown, Friar's 
Point, Miss. ; Orville Hill, Nashville ; B. Handwerkt, Memphis, Tenn. ; 
John McConican, North Carolina ; Evans Gwynn, Columbus, Ohio ; 
a negro girl belonging to J. M. Craig, Arkansas ; Nathaniel Carter, 
barber ; Stephen Tareter, cabin-boy ; four negro firemen, belonging to 
Capt. Church ; several do. belonging to W. L. Porter, New Orleans ; 
one negro fireman belonging to Mrs. Reinhart, Memphis, Tenn. ; one 
do. belonging to J. II. Upsham, of same place, and an assistant en- 
gineer. 



300 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DIRECTORY, 




SKETCH OF CHICAGO. 

SiTUATtox. — This City, which is destined to become the chief commercial emporium of the 
North West, is situated on the South Western shore of Lake Michigan, and on both sides of 
Chicago River, two hundred and seventy-eight miles W. by S. of Detroit; one hundred and 
eighty milea E. by S. from Galena ; and four hundred and ten miles, by water, from St. Louis, 
in Lat. 41° 52' 20" N. Lon. 87° 35' W. The site of Chicago is perfectly level, of sufficient 
elevation to be secure from those periodical floods which occasionally visit the Western coun- 
try, and extensive enough to afford an ample area for the growth of the most rapidly improv- 
ing city on the American continent. 

Description. — The City is separated into three sections by the North a^d South branches 
of Chicago River. The main stream flows directly Eastward; it is about seventy-five yarda 
wide, and with a depth of from fifteen to twenty feet, forms the best natural harbor on the 
Lake. Chicago is regularly laid out, the streets intersecting at right angles. The chief busi- 
ness portions of the City are on the Southern side of the river, where substantial piers have 
been extended into the Lake, and many largo warehouses have been erected. Gas has been 
introduced into the City, and the streets are well illuminated, and paved, in many places, 
with plank. One of the principal streets, Michigan Avenue, extending along the Lake, is 
ornamented with shade trees, and presents a fine and noble appearance. Wabash Avenue is 
another elegant street, running parallel with the one just mentioned, and shaded in a similar 
manner. The surrounding country is surpassingly beautiful and in a fine state of cultivation, 
variegated with fields and groves, the whole presenting a scene of Arcadian loveliness. 

Public Buildings and Institutions.— The Court House of Cook County is a magnificent 
building, constructed of limestone from the Lockport quarries. A prison is situated in the 
basement of this edifice, above which the County Offices are located, and on the next floor 
above, are the court rooms and town hall. The Marino Hospital is an extensive and sub- 
Btantial brick building, admirably fitted for the purpose required. At the corner of Wabash 
and Washington streets, is situated the Second Presbyterian Church, an imposing structure in 
the Gothic style, with a steeple and spire two hundred foet high. This is one of the finest 
specimens of ecclesiastical architecture in the United States. It is built of stone of strongly 
contrasted colors and presents a striking and unique appearance. A new Catholic Cathedral 
will shortly be finished, the cost of which is estimated at $200,000. Chicago has between 
sixty and seventy churches belonging to various religious sects. The city contains seven 
banks and some twenty or thirty printing offices, with a sufficient number of daily and weekly 
newspapers. Educational institutions abound; there are nearly sixty schools, public and 
private. A Medical College was established in 1842, At the present time it has six or eight 
crofessors and about one hundred students. 

COMMERCE. — Certain enthusiastic predictions concerning the commercial prosperity of Chi- 
cago have been more than verified ; but when we glance at the geographical position of this 
city, it is no longer a matter of surprise to find its commerce more progressive, as we may 
safely say, than that of any other city in the world. Look at its position, so perfectly adapted 
to communication, by means of the Lakes, with the Atlantic cities ; behold its means of access 
through the Illinois and Michigan Canal, one hundred miles in length, to the agricultural 
treasures of the Mississippi Valley ; and see how it is prepared to grasp, bj means of the Ga- 
lena and Chicago Railroad, all the mineral stores of Iowa and Wisconsin. Chicago has di- 
rect steam communication with New York, by means of' the Michigan Central and Michigan 
Southern Railroads, which were completed in 1852. Uninterrupted railroad comniunicatioi 
will shortly bo established between Chicago and Cincinnati; and many other r.iilway line% 

(301) 



302 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

from various points, are in rapid process of construction. The total number of miles of rail- 
■way centering in Chicago, now completed and in operation, is 2,933 the total number of 
miles projected and to be completed in six years, or less time, 6,449. The total earnings of 
the railroads leading into the city, for the year 1855, were $13,298,201 09. The total receipts of 
grain in Chicago, for 1855, were 20,487,953 bushels ; total shipments of grain from that port for 
the same year, 16,633,813 bushels. Total value of beef packed in Chicago, for the same year, 
$1,152,420 96. Receipts of lumber at the port of Chicago, for the same year, 326,553,467 feet. 
Total number of vesels arriving at the port of Chicago during the year 1855, 5,410. Total 
tonnage of vessels arriving at this port during the same year, 1,608,845. Amount of imposts 
on foreign goods received at the Chicago Custom house, in the same year, $296,844-75, Chi- 
cago is now acknowledged to be the principal grain emporium in the world, and European 
purchasers have ascertained that it is most advantageous to them to buy largely in this mar- 
ket. The lumber trade of Chicago is also of astonishing magnitude, as will appear from the 
above statistics. If the commerce of Chicago should continue to increase for the next ten, or 
even five, years, in the same ratio which has been observed in the preceding five years, this 
Western city will have scarcely a commercial rival on the borders of the Atlantic. 

Manufactures. — All who have any acquaintance with the requirements of the country 
with which Chicago is commercially connected, will perceive that she is destined to become an 
extensive manufacturing community. Already a vast amount of capital is invested in this 
branch of productive industry. The principal articles manufactured are steam engines, rail- 
way cars, agricultural implements, gas pipes, flour, leather, lumber, lard oil, &c , Ac. 

General Business op Chicago. — There are a multitude of large and flourishing business 
establishments in this city. In the wholesale grocery line^ Messrs. Reynolds, Ely & Co., do 
an immense business, amounting to $100,000 per month .' They have been established in the 
city for seven years (which in such a progressive place as this, is considered quite an age) and 
when they commenced there was only one other jobbing house in Chicago. Their business 
has kept pace with the astonishing progress of the city itself. The site of their warehouse is 
at " Reynold's and Ely's block," corner of Water street and Michigan avenue. In the whole- 
sale drug department, Messrs. Penton & Robinson, No. 15 S. Water street, occupy the most 
conspicuous position. They trade in all articles connected with the who'.esale jobbing drug 
business. As a manuficturer of superb and magnificent furniture, Mr. W. Hutehings, No. 151 
Randolph street, stands pre-eminent. Furniture for the parlour, library, dining room and 
chamber, including a fine assortment of piano fortes are made by him in the New York style, 
and are furnished at New York prices. As importers, jobbers and c-mmission merchant?, in 
staple and fancy dry goods, Messrs. Stacy & Thomas, No. 203 South Water street, are deserv- 
edly celebratod. Messrs. Ward, Doggett & Co., No. 133 South Water street, are the principal 
operators in the manufacture and sale of boots and shoes. The most prominent position in 
the bat, cap, fur and straw goods business, is occupied by E. R. Kellogg & Co., No. 167 Water 
street. Messrs. Pitkin Brotheis, No. Ill South Water street, are extensively engaged in the 
importation and sale of English, German and American hardware, cutlery, mechanics' tools, 
mill saws, &c. Messrs. A. II. Miller and Brohor?, are the most extensive importers, manu- 
facturers and dealers in watches, jewelry, silver war:», spectacles, clocks, &c Their place of 
business is the Marine Bank Building, corner of Lnke and Lasalle streets. The paper manu- 
facture flourishes in the hands of Messrs. G. H. & L. Laflin, wholesale dealers in coarse and 
fine paper of every description, No. 20 South Water street. These gentlemen are the proprie- 
tors of the Roj-al Jlills Writing, Ledger, Flat Cap, and Folio Post paper, and also of Jessup A 
Laflin's celebrated Ledger Papers. The principal artist in the merchant tailoring line, and a 
gentleman of exquisite skill and taste, is Mr. Edward Ely, No. 9 Trcmont Block, opposite the 
Journal oSice. The carriage manufacture is represented, in Chicago, by Messrs. Peck & 
Kcelcr, No. 66 Randolph street, near Dearborne st., who have an extensive manufactory in 
Bridgeport, Conn. Messrs. James H. Hubbard & Co., are the chief importers, manufacturers 
and wholesale dealers in all kinds of gentlemen's furnishing goods. Their establ'shment is 
No, 43 South Water street, second floor. The largest and most complete clothing establishment 
West of the mountains, is conducted by Messrs. Sproule & Chopoton, No. 138 Lake street 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 303 

Those gentlemen are wholesale dealers in the latest Now York, London and Paris styles of 
lino clothing and famishing goods, whieh nro supplied by their nianufacOry in Now York, 
•which is renowned for the beauty and excellence of its workmanship. Their sales amount to 
about J50,000 monthlj-. Mes.-rs. Fuller <i; Myers, No. 13 South Water street, are' extensively 
engaged in the importation of wines and liquor?. They are likewise celebrated as rectifiers 
and distillers of pure spirits and wliiskej' and manufacturers of cider and vinegar. The "Ex- 
celsior" steam coffee and spice mills are conducted by Jlessrs. Iluuter & Towner, West Water 
street, near the Lake street bridge. These gentlemen are wholesale dealers in, and manufac- 
turers of coffee, spices, mustard, crcnm of tartar, ic. They also tradi in green and black 
teas. 

Banking — The comphint which was formerly made against the insubstantial character of 
the Chicago currency can no longer be supported by facts. There are several banks, doing a 
large business, locaed in the city. One which we know to bo perfectly safe and established 
on the surest foundation, is that of Messrs R. K. Swift, Brother & Johnson, which has an almost 
unlimited capital, and is prepared to transact exchanges on the various cities of the United 
States, Canada, Great Britain, Iro'and, and the whole European continent. This firm is in 
financial correspondence with Baring, Brothers & Co., London, the London and Westminster 
Bank, Messrs. Coutts & Co. of the same city; Guion & Co., Liverpool; National Bank of 
Scotland, Edinburg, and its branches, in at least fifty Scottish towns and cities ; the Provincial 
Bank of Ireland, Dublin, and all its branches in the different towns and cities of that country ; 
they also correspond with the principal banking establishments of France, Germany, Holland, 
Xorwaj', Sweden, Switzerland, <fec. Residents of England, Scotland, or Ireland, who wish to 
remit money to their friends in the Western States, or Territories of tho United States, can do 
so by lodging their money with the nearest bank and requesticg the macager thereof to pro- 
cure of Messrs. Baring &, Brothers, or of tho London and Westminster Banks, a letter of credit 
for the amount, payable at Chicago. This is the most extensive, tho safest, and in all respects, 
the best banking establishment in Chicago. 

Hotels. — There are several first class hotels in this city, at the head of which we place tho 
Tremont House, which, under the management of Mr. John B. Drake, enjoys a reputation 
which may well excite the envy of all competitors. This is acknowledged to be one of tho 
largest and best hotels in tho United States. The sojourner at this superb caravansary, may 
live in a stylo of splendor and lu.\ury which might satisfy a monarch, and all this without 
any excessive draught on his pocket. This house is famous for its princely accommodations 
and the moderation of its charges. 

Real Estate. — In such a growing city as Chicago, it may well bo supposed that the real 
estate business is one of the greatest importance, as indeed it is. Tho principal real estate 
agency, and one which for tho extent and niagnitudoof its transactions, surpasses every other* 
perhaps, in the United States, is the firm of N. P. Iglehart & Co., office No. 50 Lasalle street. 
The gentlemen composing this firm are landed proprietors themselves, on a large scale, and 
have extensive tracts belonging to other persons, to dispose of; their books, therefore, contain 
a vast amount of land in the most desirable localities, and they afford ever^ facility to pur- 
chasers for the examination of tho ground, A part of their business is to invest money for 
capitalists and all who may wish to speculate in lands, their perfect acquaintance with the 
localities enabling them to do this to tho best advantage. They are men of the most correct 
business habits, on whose integrity the most perfect reliance may be placed, and in this re- 
spect they are entitled to decided preference over those swindling agents for bogus corpora- 
tions and associations with which Chicago, like every other new and improving city of the 
West, so greatly abounds. We cordially, and with entire confidence, recommend this firm to 
all of our readers who may have occasion to use the services of persons in their lino of busi- 
ness. To show how tho valuo of real estate in Chicago has augmented within a few years 
we may state that tho total valno thereof, in 1810, was $1,8C1,205; in 1S45, $0,039,124; in 
1850, $8,184,000; in 1855, $33,000,000; iu 1850, $41 000,000. 

OMNiBt;SKS. — Tho best omnibus line iu Ciiicago, and tho only one which plies between the 
hotels, steamboats and railroad depots, is that of Messrs. F. Parmelce & Co. On thoproprie- 



304 LLOYD'S STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 

tors of this line, and their agents, the travelling public may rely for punctuality and fair deal- 
ing. 

Dry Goods. — The largest Dealers in the staple and fancy Dry Goods are the Messrs. 
Gowdy, Terry & Lawrence, No 18 South Water St. These gentlemen do a heavy importing 
business ; one of the firm resides in the East, buying and shipping to their house in Chicago. 
Perhaps no similar house in this rapidly growing city have the same facilities for buying and 
selling at extreme low rates as Messrs. Gowdy, Terry & Lawrence, — they are good business 
men and noted for their fair dealings with all their customers. 

Retail Dry Goods Trade. — No house in the east surpasses the splendid Establishment 
of Messrs. Ross & Foster. Thair building is the finest we have ever seen, and is always 
crowded with ladies; their princely store is Nos. 167 & 169, Lake Street. 

History of Chicago. — Only as far back as the year 1830, Chicago was a mere trading post 
surrounded by Indians. In 1831, it was settled by several enterprising pioneers. It was 
incorporated in 1836. In IS-iO, the number of inhabitants was 4853. The first newspaper 
■wa-s established here in 1833. 

Recent IiiPROVEsrENTS. — Within the year 1855, very many new buildings for public and 
private purposes, have been erected in Chicago. Factories, wholesale warehouses, stores and 
dwellings have been constructed on a scale of substantial magnificence known in few cities 
west of the Alleghenies. The quarries of Athenian marble located in the neighborhood of 
the city, supply an inexhaustible stock of building materials of the finest quality, and this su- 
perb material has been used to a great extent in the construction of many private mansions, 
as well as other edifices. Among these building improvements, we may particularise the 
" Bishop's Palace," at the corner of Michigan avenue and Madison street. The facade of 
this building is of Athens marble, elaborately sculptured. For architectural beauty, this edi- 
fice will compare favorably with the most sumptuous mansion houses either in America or 
England. 

Population. — The population of Chicago, at the present time (1856) is estimated at 100,000. 



rEINCIPAL RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 



CAMDEN AND AMBOY RAILROAD. 

The Camden and Amboy Railroad Company was chartered by the 
lc;^ishiture of New Jersey in 1830. With the exception of the Al- 
bany and Schenectady railroad, this was the first railroad of any 
magnitude in the United States. At that time the manufacture of 
locomotive engines was still in its infancy, even in England ; nor was 
it generally known or believed on this side of the Atlantic, that steam 
power could be successfully applied to the motion of cars on railroads. 
This beiiig the fact, the charter of the Camden and Amboy Railroad 
Compariy, it will bo found on examination, actually provides for the 
use of horse power as the agent of transportation. Before the road was 
completed, however, the locomotive had come into general use on the 
English roads, and the Messrs. Stevens, the projectors and principal 
stockholders in the Camden and Amboy Company, imported for ex- 
periment on this road the first steam locomotive engine brought to the 
United States. When this road was first projected, the public had no 
confidence in the probability of its being ever completed. They were 
equally incredulous of its even producing sufficient revenue to pay the 
interest on the cost of its construction. Its successful progress was, 
however, insured in 1831-2, by a subsequent contract with the State, 
which provided, in consideration of certain concessions on the part of 
the Railroad Company, for ample protection against competition for 
the limited period of thirty years. The Camden and Amboj' rail- 
road was completed in the years 1832, '33 ; since which time, also, they 
have, by connection with the Philadelphia and Trenton railroad, and the 
construction of a railroad from Lordentown through Trenton and New 
Brunswick to a junction at the latter place with the New Jersey Rail- 
road and Transportation Company, given the public another medium 
of communication between New York and Philadelphia. 

The Camden and Amboy Railroad Company have likewise, in con- 
junction with the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company, constructed 

20 ( 305 ) 



g06 RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

the Trenton and Belvidere Railroad, about sixty-eight miles, connecting 
at Easton with the Pennsylvania railroads, which penetrate the exten- 
sive coal fields of that State. They have constructed, likewise, a plank 
road from the Belvidere railroad, eleven miles to Flemington; also the 
Jamesburo; and Freehold railroad, which extends fourteen miles in 
length to the marl beds of Monmouth county, and will probably soon 
be further extended to the sea shore, near Long Branch. The Burling- 
ton and Mount Holly railroad was likewise constructed by the aid of 
the Camden and Amboy railroad company. 

Besides constructing these branch railroads, the joint companies con- 
tribute, by means of transit duties on passengers and freight, a hand- 
some revenue to the State. These transit duties have been erroneously 
represented to be a tax levied on the citizens of other States. They 
apply to all passengers, whether citizens of the United States or else- 
where. They are no more a tax, than the tolls on the New York and 
Pennsylvania canals. These companies, relieved from the payment 
of these duties, they would not vary their charges from what they are 
at present. The fact is, that the State, instead of taxing the capital of 
the companies, which is fixed and inviolate, has seen proper to tax 
their business and revenue, which is constantly augmenting. The tran- 
sit duties are not therefore a charge on the citizens of other States, 
but a tax on the Companies' revenue. They are taxed in proportion 
to the number of passengers and tons of freight they transport. But 
the charge on passengers and freight is no greater than it would be, 
were the Companies' capital taxed, or were they exempted from all 
taxation. 

If there were no railroads through New Jersey, passengers and 
freight would have to pay, in tolls over bridges and ferries, a far heavier 
amount than the transit duties now paid by the companies. 

The Camden and Amboy railroad extends from Camden, opposite 
Philadelphia, to South Amboy, on the bay of Amboy, thirty miles 
from New York. Commodious steamboats take the passengers at 
South Amboy through Staten Island Sound to New York ; affording a 
picturesque view of that island, whose sliores are studded with flourish- 
ing villages, and adorned with the magnificent country residences of the 
New Yorkers. In clear weather these steamboats often take the route 
outside of the island, through the narrows, by which the traveller en- 
joys a view of the ocean, and the forts and harbor defences of our 
commercial metropolis. 

The other route, via. Tacony, or (in the winter) Kensington, trans- 
ports the traveller through Trenton, the seat of government of New Jer- 



RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 307 

gcj, 'R-itliin sight of Princeton, through New Brunswick, Rahway, 
Elizabethtown, Newark and Jersey city, to New York. Both routes 
are about ninety miles long. By a recent act of the legislature, and 
the consent of the joint companies, the average fares of the different 
railroad lines cannot exceed two and a half cents per mile. 

Tiic average time of passage between New York and Philadelphia, 
is from four to four and a half hours. Eight or nine passenger lines 
leave each city daily. The price of passage is from $1.50, $2.25, to 
§3.00. The cars are spacious and elegant, and the engines of the 
first class. In fact, all the equipments and appointments of the road 
are of the first order. 

The principal Agents at Philadelphia and New York cities, are 
Wm. II. Gatzmer and Ira Bliss, celebrated for their courtesy and 
strict attention to their duties. The officers of this company are 
Robert L. Stevens, President ; Robert R. S. Van Rensaelaer, Super- 
intendent ; James S. Green, Treasurer; Saml. J. Bayard, Secretary; 
W. 11. Gatzmer, Agent, Philadelphia ; and Ira Bliss, Agent, New 
York. 



LITTLE MIA5II, COLUMBUS AND XENIA RAILROAD. 

On this road, four passenger trains are in daily operation. The 
main line of the road extends from Columbus, on the Sciota river, in a 
southwesterly direction through Xenia, Ohio, to the Little Miami. It 
has the following connections : 

1. At Columbus, it connects with the Cleveland and Columbus and 
Central Ohio Railroads for Cleveland, Dunkirk, New York, Boston, 
Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Zanesville, Wheeling, Baltimore, Washing- 
ton, D. C, Newark and Steubenville. 

2. At London, Ohio, it connects with the Springfield and Columbus 
Railroad. 

3. At Xenia, it connects with the Dayton, Xenia and Bellefere 
Railroads for Dayton, Indianapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, and other 
points in Western and Southern sections, and also with Springfield 
and Delaware, Ohio. 

4. At Morrow, it connects with the Cincinnati, Wilmington and 
Zanesville Railroad, for Circleville, Lancaster and Zanesville. 

5. At Loveland, it connects with the Marietta and Cincinnati Rail- 
road, for Hillsborough, Chilicothe and Marietta. 

6. At Cincinnati, it connects with lines of steamers on the Ohio 



808 SAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

river, and by the Ohio and Mississippi and Covington and Lexington 
Railroads, with St. Louis, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, New Or- 
leans, and all other points of the South and West, The President of 
the Little Miama Railroad is Jacob Strader, The President of the 
Columbus and Xenia Railroad, is Wm. Dennison, Jr. ; Superintendent, 
Wm. II. Clement ; General Agent, P. W. Strader. 



CLEVELAND, COLUMBUS AND CINCINNATI KAILROAD. 

On this Railroad, three trains run daily between Cleveland, Co- 
lumbus and Cincinnati. The accommodations for travellers are of a 
very superior order, combining speed, safety and convenience. 

The Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad connects as 
follows : 

1. At Cleveland, with the Lake Shore Railroads and the line of 
steamers for BufiFalo, New York and Boston, and with a series of 
steamers for Detroit, Sault Marie and Lake Superior. 

2. At Grafton, Avith the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad, for Toledo, 
Chicago and the West. 

3. At Shelby, with the Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark Railroad, 
for Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark. 

4. At Crestline, with the Ohio and Indiana Railroad, for Fort 
Wayne and the Wabash Valley, and with the Ohio and Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad for Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington City. 

5. At Galeon, with the Bellefontaine and Indiana Railroad for In- 
dianopolis, St. Louis and the Southwest. 

G. At Delaware, with the Springfield, Mount Vernon and Pittsburgh 
Railroad for Springfield and Dayton. 

7. At Columbus, with Little Miami and the Columbus and Xenia 
Railroads 

From this view it will appear that the Cleveland, Columbus and 
Cincinnati Railroad communicates by its various branches, directly or 
indirectly, with every section of the country, and offers a convenient 
mode of access to all the principal cities of the United States. The 
President of this Railroad Company is L. M. Ilubby ; Superintendent, 
E. S. Flint. 



RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 309 



MICHIGAN CENTRAL RAILROAD. 

GREAT CENTRAL ROUTE FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST. 

Great Western Railway from Suspension Briflgo or Niagara FmUs, 
or North Shore Line Steamers from Buffalo to Detroit, and Michigan 
Central Railroad to Chicago, St. Louis, Cairo, Milvvaukie, Burlington, 
Rock Island, Galena, Dubuque, St. Paul, and all points in the Great 
West. 

The M. C. R. R. North Shore Line of new and magnificent Steam- 
ers leave Buffalo every evening, on arrival of Express Trains from the 
East, as follows : 

Vrestern AVorld, X H. Baker, Commander, Mondays and Thursdays. 

Plymouth Rock, P. J. Ralph, Commander, Tuesdays and Fridays. 

Mississippi, S. G. Langley, Commander, Wednesdays and Satur- 
days. 

Trains leave Suspension Bridge on arrival of all trains from Al- 
bany, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Lcwistown and Buffalo for 
Detroit, making close connections with Michigan Central Railroad. 
Trains leave Detroit for Chicago on arrival of North Shore Steamers, 
and all trains from Suspension Bridge. 

Passengers for St. Louis, by purchasing tickets, via " Joliet Cut 
Off," will save twelve hours time, and fifty miles railroad travel. 

Trains of Michigan Central Railroad run into the Union depot at 
Chicago, from which the trains of the Chicago, A. and St. Louis, Illi- 
nois, Central, and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroads depart, 
avoiding hack hire and change of baggage incident to other routes. 

Through tickets can be purchased at all principal Railroad and 
Steamboat ofiices in the United States and Canadas ; at 173 Broad- 
way, New York ; 21 State street, Boston ; Great Western Railway 
Offices, Rochester, and 17 Exchange street, Buffalo, and at the office 
of the Michigan Central Railroad, foot Erie street, Buffalo. 

The officers of this Road are — John Forbes, President, Boston, 
Mass.; R. N. Rice, Superintendent, Detroit; C. B. Swain, General 
Agent for the Boats of this line, Detroit; Charles E. Noble, General 
Agent, Buflalo, N. Y. 



RAILKOADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 311 



LOUISVILLE AND NASHVILLE RAILROAD. 

Leaving Louisville, this road passes through a part of JciTerson, 
and directly through the county of Bullitt, touching Shephcrdsville, 
the county scat. At twenty-five miles from Louisville it enters a 
rich iron region where there is now in full blast one or more furnaces, 
furnishing ore in abundance to supply many more. At the end of 
thirty miles the Lebanon branch diverges, coursing along the rich 
valleys of the Beech and Rolling Forks. Within forty miles it reach- 
es another iron region, where there is now in blast one furnace, and 
others could be abundantly supplied with ore ; reaching the town of 
New Haven, at forty-five miles, it crosses the upper Nashville turn- 
pike, thus by its locality inviting the trade of Bullitt, and parts of 
Hardin, Nelson, and Larue. This branch terminates at Lebanon, a 
flourishing and enterprising town, the county seat of Marion, at a dis- 
tance of sixty-seven miles from Louisville. At that point it will 
command and receive for the Louisville market the productions of 
Washington, Marion, Taylor, Green, Adair, Russell, and Casey coun- 
ties, and that of the southern parts of Mercer, Boyle and Lincoln, 
and most probably by suitable connections, will invite the entire trade 
of those counties. It will be a most important auxiliary road. The 
main stem pursued crosses the Rolling Fork entering the county of 
Hardin, touching Elizabethtown at forty-two miles, traversing the 
richest agricultural portion of that county for thirty miles. Proposals 
have been made to build a branch road to the coal fields and iron re- 
gion in Grayson county. This branch will diverge from the main 
stem about forty-five miles from Louisville. It will be about fifteen 
miles in length, encountering no grade which will interpose the slight- 
est difficulty in the way of transporting coal. At the distance named 
this branch reaches a point which may, in truth, be said to be a rich 
field for mechanical operations. Coal in great abundance, and in 
strata over four feet thick ; a rich unbroken forest of timber, suited 
to every mechanical purpose ; an area of several miles in length and 
breadth of iron ore as rich as any in America. Through the midst 
of this combination of undeveloped wealth passes a bold stream of 
water, which at that point in seasons of the year affords water enough 
for flat-boat navigation ; the bottom and banks of solid rock, giving a 



312 RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

safe fonniln'ion for dams. Yfatei* power can be furnished to supply 
any amount of macliincry in the dryest season known to the ohlest in- 
liabitant. This branch will pass within a few miles of that well- 
l:nown and much resorted to Avatcring place — the Grayson Springs. 
Grayson county abounds in coal, both ordinary bituminous and can- 
nel. 

Upon examination of the drainage of the country, it will be per- 
ceived that the point of this divergence, or one in its vicinity, is admi- 
rably suited for the direction of a road traversing the rich mineral 
region and coal fields of Southern Kentucky, passing through Gray- 
son, Ohio, Ivluhlenburg, Christian, and other counties, terminating at 
Columbus, on the Mississippi, or some point in tha,t vicinity, to con- 
nect with the great Pacific road, the terminus of which is, in effect, 
fixed by Congress at Cairo. The main stem pursued passes through 
Hart county, touching near the county seat. Hart is a county rich iu 
nf^ricultural production, and many parts of it abounding in iron ore. 

The road next skirts the counties of Barren and Edmonson, reach- 
infi; a point at which Glasgow and the Mammouth Cave are about equi- 
distant from the road on opposite sides. It has been proposed to 
build a branch about nine to eleven miles in length to reach Glasgow, 
a beautiful village with many enterprising citizens. It is the county 
seat of Barren, the most populous and among the wealthiest counties 
south of Green river. A branch to Glasgow would secure the trade 
of Barren, Cumberland, Munroe, and the largest part of Allen. From 
thispoint-of divergence individual enterprise would construct a graded 
or macadamized road to that wonder of the world — the Mammoth 
Cave. The main stem pursued passes directly through the county of 
Vfarren, touching Bowling Green, the county seat. Bowling Green 
is situated at the head of slack-water navigation of Green and Barren 
rivers, and may be said to be the commercial emporium of Green 
river. Warren is a county of wealth, rich in production, and her citi- 
zens full of enterprise. 

From Bowling Green (11-3 miles from Louisville,) it is proposed to 
build a branch to connect with roads in Tennessee to form a direct 
connexion with the city of Memphis. The Board entertain no doubt 
that such connexion can and will be made, and perhaps at as early a 
day as the main stem will be finished between Louisville and Bowling 
Green. This branch will pass through Logan county touching Rus- 
sclville. The county is rich in production, the town thriving, and full 
of prosperity. If made by way of Clarksville there will be between 
45 and 50 miles to construct in Kentucky. Steps will at an early day be 



RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 313 

taken to locate and construct this branch to Russelvillc. Pursuing its 
course this branch enters West Tennessee, and about midway between 
the State line and Memphis uill cross the Northwestern Road of 
Tennessee — a road noAV in progress of construction. Inning its begin- 
ning at Nashville, and running northwest through "West Tennessee, 
crosses the Mobile and Ohio Road near the State line, terminating on 
the Mississippi at Hickman. The Mobile road, by its branches, ter- 
minates at Columbus and Paducha, in Kentucky. The branch road 
will intersect or cross the ]\Iobile and Ohio Road at Trenton, in Ten- 
nessee. At that point a few miles of road will connect with the Mis- 
sissippi Central Road at Jackson, That road is now opnu to Holly 
Springs, and will, during the present or the next season, bo opened to 
Jackson, in Tennessee. From Memphis this southern connexion will 
be continued to Little Rock, in Arkansas, and from thence to Texas, 
forming a connexion with the southern terminus of tlio Pacific Road. 
Falling back on the main stem at Cowling Green it passes through 
Simpson county, in Kentucky, and Sumner, in Tennessee, touching at 
the county seats of each, both of wlach counties are rich in production 
and in the highest state of cultivation, terminating at Nashville, a dis- 
tance of 184 miles. 

Nashville has now a population of about 20,000. At tliat point 
the Louisville and Nashville railroad will form most extensive con- 
'noxions. 

By means of the Chattanooga railroad a connexion is formed with 
the two great trunk roads, the one passing through Georgia to Savan- 
nah. From this main trunk a connexion by lateral roads is formed 
with almost every principal town in Georgia. At Atlanta, a flourish- 
ing town on that road, a connexion is formed by railroad with the cen- 
tre of Alabama from Chattanooga, the other main trunk passes to 
Charleston in South Carolina. From that trunk connexions arc form- 
ed by which almost every interior town in South Carolina may now 
be reached by railway. Before reaching Charleston a road diverges 
passing through "Wihi.ington, in North Carolina, reachin.::; Richmond, 
in Virginia, forming connexions by lateral ways with interior towns 
and communiiies of North Carolina and Virginia. From Nashville a 
c mnexion will be formed with Western Virginia through Knoxvillc. 
The Tennessc and Alabama Railroad, now complete from Nashville to 
Franklin, is intended to be so continued as to form a connexion with 
the centre of Alabama in one direction, and in the other to form a 
connexion with the Mobile and Ohio Road, and the New Orleans and 
Mississippi Road at Jackson, in Mississippi. By means of those South- 



314 EAIL ROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

crn roads Florida, too, m\\ be reached. The Louisville and Nashville 
Road will from Bowling Green to Louisville form a connecting link 
between the great system of roads projected and being projected in 
the South and Southwest, and the North and Northeast. 

JOHN L. HELM, President. 
GEORGE MACLEOD, Chief Engineer. 



RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 315 



CLEVELAND AND TOLEDO RxULROAD. 

A CONTINUATION OF AMERICAN LAKE SHORE RAILROAD LINE- 
BUFFALO TO TOLEDO. 

This road runs four daily passenger trains between Cleveland and 
Toledo, connecting as follo^YS — 

At Cleveland, •with Cleveland and Erie Railroad for Duntirlc, Buffa- 
lo, New York and Boston. Also, with Cleveland and Pittsburg Rail- 
road for Pittsburg, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington City. 

At Grafton, with Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati Railroad. 

At Monroeville and Sandusky, with Sandusky, Mansfield, and New- 
ark Railroad for Newark, Mt. Vernon, "Wheeling, Baltimore, Pitts- 
burg, and Philadelphia. 

At Clyde and Sandusky, with Mad river and Lake Erie Railroad, 
and through that road with Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Rail- 
road, forming the "West Line," Cleveland to Springfield, Dayton, 
Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. 

At Toledo, with Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad, i^ 
for Chicago, Rock Island, Burlington, Milwaukie, Galena, and the 
North West generally. 

Also, with Toledo and Illinois and Lake Erie, Wabash and St. 
Louis Railroad, now open to Peru, one hundred and thirty-six miles 
from Toledo, and soon to be extended to Danville, when it will form 
connections with Groat Western and Terre Haute and Alton Rail- 
roads, and make the most direct line to all points in Wabash Valley 
and St. Louis. 

443,656 passengers were carried upon this road in 1855, not one of 
whom received the slightest injury. 

The officers of this road arc — Henry Martin, President ; E. B. 
Philips, Superintendent ; L. D. Ruckcr, Passenger and Freight Agent. 
Office at Cleveland, Ohio. 



316 RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 



CHICAGO, ALTON, AND ST. LOUIS RAILROAD. 

Our obligations to tlie travelling public require us to give some ac- 
count of this magnificent work, which is deservedly one of the most 
popular railroad routes on the American continent. This road tra- 
verses the state of Illinois, almost in a straight line, from Northeast to 
Southwest, from Lake Michigan to the INIississippi, having for its ter- 
minus the two great markets of the West, Chicago and St. Louis. By 
means of this extensive and well-selected route, settlers may have ac- 
cess to some of the most desirable locations in the "Western region, in 
a range which comprise-s every variety of soil and climate. As this 
route has been but recently opened, many of the best locations are un- 
occupied, and the land maybe obtained on terms most favorable to the 
purchaser. To the enterprising mechanic, and business man, likewise, 
this route offers the strongest inducements, as the resources of the 
country through Avhich it passes are becoming rapidly developed, and 
tracts sufficient for the site of whole towns, as well as single lots, may 
be obtained at surprisingly low prices. We have been assured that no 
section of the West offers greater advantages, either present or pros- 
pective, to those who wish to establish themselves in a comfortable 
home, with the best chance of becoming wealthy at no remote period. 
In this connection Vi-e may say that every facility and the most accu- 
rate information may be obtained by those who intend to purchase 
lands, on application to Llcssrs. Spencer, Gould & Co., at the Land 
Agency of this Railroad, No. 48 Dearborne street, opposite Treraont 
House, Chicngo, One million acres of prairie, timber Jind cohI lands, 
in the most eligible situations are offered for sale by these gentlemen, 
the liberality of whose dealings has won the highest praise from all 
who have transacted business with them, and who offer some extraor- 
dinai-y advantages and facilities to settlers for the transportation of 
their families, stock, materials, &c. 

The Chicngo, Alton, and St. Louis Railroad is the only independent 
and uninterrupted line by which passengers can leave Chicago and ar- 
rive at St. Louis on the same day. The distance between the two 
places is seventy miles less by this road than by any other route. At 
St. Louis the lines connect with daily linos of first-class steamers for 
Cairo, Memphis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans, and v/ith regular hues 



RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 317 

of packets for Kansas and Nebraska and all points on the Missouri, 
Tennessee, Cumberland, and Arkansas rivers. The trains run di- 
rectly through -without change of cars or baggage. 

Among the peculiar advantages of this Kailroad, wc may mention 
that it is au Air Line Road, built expressly for business between the 
two great cities. Passengers on this route save two changes of cars 
and baggage, and several hours of time, and are conveyed directly 
to the levee at St. Louis, without any necessity for omnibus convey- 
ance at the end of the route. 

This Kailroad has the following local connections : At Jolict, with 
the Hock Island Railroad for Otawa, La Salle, Rock Island and Cen- 
tral Iowa ; at Bloomington, with Illinois Central Railroad for Clinton, 
"VYaynesville, and Decatur, and with stages for Peoria ; at Springfield, 
with the Great Western Railroad for Jacksonville, Naples and Illinois 
river ; at Alton, with a daily line of packets for Hannibal, Quincy and 
Keokuk. 

All kinds of merchandize, produce and stock, arc conveyed on the 
most favorable terms, and the company retains in its service the most 
responsible baggage men, who attend at the various depots to check 
baggage through to any desired point on the line. The officers of this 
company are Hamilton Spencer, President, Bloomington, 111. ; S. Dar- 
ling, Gen. Agent, No. 48 Dearborne street, Chicago, 111. ; Superin- 
tendent, R. P. Morgan, Jr., Bloomington, 111. 



MADISON AND INDIANAPOLIS RAILROAD. '' 

The length of this road is eighty-six miles, and in view of certain 
difficulties which have been overcome in its construction, it may be 
considered as a stupendous enterprise. Among other obstacles which 
presented themselves was a solid rock, one hundred and forty-seven 
feet thick, through wliich the track was cut with immense labor and at 
a vast expense, proving that the most formidable barriers which nature 
can interpose are no impediment to Western enterprise. 

Among the numerous advantages of travelling on this road, the 
tourist will find every access thereby to some of the most superb 
steamboats on the Ohio and Mississippi. It is a blessing which every 
traveller knows how to appreciate, to reach such a "floating palace" 
as the Jacob Strader, a Telegraph No. 3, after being hampered up for 



318 RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

hours in the straitened limits of a railroad car, to breathe the pure 
and vivifying air of the river, and enjoy the comforts of such a supper 
as may always be confidently expected by passengers in the steam- 
boats just named. These are among the agreeable incidents of a trip 
by this route, and the voyager arrives at Cincinna.ti or Louisville next 
^morning in time to take the cars for any point in the compass. They 
•who have tried it generally acknowledge this to be one of the most 
pleasant railroad trips in America. 

The Bladison and Indianapolis Railroad has the following connec- 
tions: At North Vernon, it connects with the Ohio and jMississippi 
Railroads ; at Columbus, -with the Columbus and Shelbyville road ; at 
Franklin it connects with the Franklin and Martinsville road and a 
branch thereof, twenty-six miles in length. It is in fact, directly or 
indirectly, connected with all the Eastern routes, and with lines of 
splendid and commodious steamers for the South. 

The rectilineal character of this road and the scientific accuracy 
■with which it was laid out, may appear from the fact that it is just 
eighty-six miles in length, while the distance between the two termi- 
ni in a perfectly straight line, is eighty-five miles precisely. The 
accommodations for passengers are of the first order ; everything that 
can be done to make travelling on the route safe, expeditious, and 
pleasant, has been put in practice. Careful persons are employed to 
superintend the baggage department, and the courteous and accommo- 
dating disposition of the conductors and other agents of the company 
is worthy of all praise. The gauge of this railroad is four feet eight 
inches and a half. 

The President of this road is F. II. Smith ; Superintendent, D. C. 
Brankann. 



CINCINNATI, HAMILTON AND DAYTON RAILROAD. 

This is unquestionably one of the best regulated railroads in the 
United States. The accommodations for travellers are unsurpassed, 
and the trains are run with the most scrupulous regularity. The im- 
pression which is soon received by every traveller on this line is that 
the affairs of the road are under the best possible management, and 
that the safety and comfort of passengers arc the primary objects of 



RAILROADS IX THE UNITED STATES. 319 

the companj ; notwithstanding all modes of Western conveyance are 
frequently slandered with the imputation of negligence and reckless 
temerity. 

This road extends from Cincinnati to Dayton, Ohio, a distance of 
sixty miles. Four daily passenger trains are run hctween the two 
places aforesaid, and two additional trains between Cincinnati and 
Hamilton. 

The following are the connections of this railroad, viz : At Hamil- 
ton it connects with the Easton and Hamilton Railroad for Richmond, 
Indianapolis, Terre Haute, St. Louis, Laf\iyette, Michigan City and 
Chicago ; at Dayton it connects with the Dayton and Michigan Rail- 
road for Troy and Pequa, and with the Greenville and Miami Railroad 
for Greenville, Union, &c. It likewise connects with the Mad River 
and Lake Erie Railroad for local stations on that road, and for Colum- 
bus, Cleveland, Dunkirk, Buffalo, New York, Boston, Pittsburg, Phil- 
adelphia, Baltimore, Toledo, Chicago, and all other points towards the 
East or AVest. At Cincinnati this road connects with steamers fjoinir 
Southward ; also, with the Covington and Lexington and Ohio and 
^lississippi Railroads for Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, New Or- 
leans, &c. 

As far as our personal recommendation will go, we offer the travel- 
ling public an assurance, derived from our own experience, that all 
who may have occasion to travel on this line, will find none of those 
causes of dissatisfaction for which American railways have often been 
censured, and sometimes with too much reason and justice. As a re- 
sult of the company's excellent management and the orderly arrange- 
ment of everything connected with the road, accidents, and even those 
of the most trivial character, are unknown on this route. Yorj many 
times have we passed over this tract, and never, in a single instance, 
did we witness any act of negligence or inefficiency which could make 
the most querulous passenger utter a complaint. We appeal to every 
gentleman who has travelled much in any part of our country, and 
ask if the praise just bestowed by us on the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and 
Dayton Railroad is not of a kind which is rarely merited by railroad 
companies in general ? 

Tbe officers of this company are — S. S. Ilommcdlcu, President; 
Frank S. Bond, Secretary; Henry 0. Ames, Superintendent. 



520 RAILROADSINTIIE UNITED STATES. 



CONNECTION LAKE SHORE RAILROAD. 

This rocid extends from Cleveland, Ohio, to Buffalo, New York, a dis- 
tance of one hundred and eighty-three miles. The company keeps in 
operation three trains, "which run through from one terminus to the 
other, every day, Sundays excepted. 

The Connection Lake Shore Railroad connects at Cleveland with 
trains from Toledo, Chicago, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. 
Louis, Pittsburg, &c., &c. It also connects at Dunkirk and BulTalo, 
with trains of the New York and Erie and New Y^ork Central Rail- 
roads, and likewise with trains for that point of universal attraction, 
Niagara Falls. 

The Connection Lake Shore Railroad is formed by a union of the 
Buflalo and Erie and Cleveland and Erie Railroad, making a complete 
railroad connection between two of the most important points on Lake 
Erie, aind giving increased facilities for the interchange of the agricul- 
tural productions of the West and the manufactures and imported mer- 
chandize of the Northern, Eastern and Middle States. 

Beside the connections mentioned above, the Connection Lake Shore 
Railroad has connection, by the way of Columbus, with the National 
Road, the Ohio Canal, Little Miami Railroad, &;c. 

The officers, of every grade, understand their duty and perform it to 
the letter. All the arrangements for the conveyance of freight and 
baggage are scrupulously made with an eye to promptitude and secu- 
rity, and the consequence is that no delay or mistake ever occurs on 
account of the nc<j;licrence or blunders of barrsrasre-masters or freia;ht 
agents. All the business of the road, in fact, is managed with mathe- 
matical accuracy. 

Passengers arc comfortably and even luxuriously accommodated in 
the cars provided for their use, and while the man of business is de- 
lighted with the expedition of the travel on this route, the most timid 
lady passenger, aware of the careful management of the road, is never 
alarmed by any indication of danger. To conclude, we consider this 
as one of the model railroads of the model republic. 

The officers of the Buflalo and Erie Railroad are — George Palmer, 
of Buffalo, President ; C. C. Dennis, Superintendent. 

The ofTiccrs of the Cleveland and Eric Railroad arc — William Case, 
of Cleveland, President; L. Tilton, Superintendent. 



RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 321 



CINCINNATI AND CHICAGO RAILROAD. 

This road is designed to form a direct connection between two of 
the most flourishing cities of the West ; it is, therefore, a work of sur- 
passing importance. Although Cincinnati and Chicago have begun to 
look on each other as rivals in the race of prosperity, and the latter 
may, at no distant day, question the claim of the former to the title 
of "Queen City," they are about to join in a sistei'ly embrace and to 
strengthen their union with bonds of iron. The projected railroad is 
now in successful operation from Richmond, Indiana, to Anderson, in 
the same State, connecting at the latter point with the Indianapolis 
and Bcllefontaine Railroad. Another section is completed from Lo- 
gansport, Indiana, to Kokomo, at which point it connects with the 
Peru and Indianapolis road. There is every reason to believe that, 
during the present summer, the track will be completed from Ander- 
son to Kokomo, and then trains will be put in operation directly from 
Cincinnati to Logansport. 

At the present time, two passenger trains run directly from Rich- 
mond to Anderson, leaving Richmond at half past eight o'clock, A. M., 
and half past five, P. M., immediately after the arrival of the trains 
from Cincinnati. 

Returning trains leave Anderson at half past seven o'clock, A. M., 
and at tAvo o'clock, P. M., arriving at Richmond in time to connect 
with the trains for Cincinnati and Dayton. 

This railway, when completed between the two great cities, promi- 
ses to bring to Cincinnati a large amount of trade which now reach other 
markets. The road, in fact, will be of incalculable advantage to both 
cities by giving all desirable facilities for a reciprocal trade between 
these emporiums. 

The whole length of the route from Cincinnati to Chicago is about 
two hundred and eighty miles. The line will pass through the best 
portions of the Wabash Valley, and over some of the most fertile and 
beautiful lands of Indiana. We sincerely hope that the enterprise 
may be carried on to a successful and speedy termination. 

The following are the officers of the company ; Caleb B. Smith, 
President, Cincinnati; D. B. Lupton, Secretary, Cincinnati; James 
Blanchard, Superintendent, Richmond ; Jno. W. Grubb, Gen. Agent, 
New Castle. 

21 




(322) 



RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 323 



THE NEW YORK AND ERIE RAILROAD. 

The internal improvements of the United States, like the rivers, 
lakes, mountains, and other natural features of the country, are on the 
most magnificent scales. The Egyptian pyramids, the Roman aque- 
ducts, and the famous Chinese wall, were indeed stupendous undertak- 
ings ; they are astonishing monuments of human enterprise and in- 
dustry ; but, with respect to real utility and adaptation to the purposes 
required, some of the railroads of the United States are the greatest 
results of human energy that the world has ever witnessed. Among 
these enduring records of our country's greatness — records traced in 
lines of iron on the most substantial tablet — the great work, whose 
title appears at the head of this article, deserves special attention. 
Not to mention it in a book of this kind, would be a sin of omission 
which would certainly be unpardonable. 

The New York and Erie railroad has the unrivalled length of four 
hundred and sixty miles, extending from the Hudson river to Lake Erie. 
It communicates with the Hudson by three termini, viz. : 1. At Jer- 
sey city, opposite the city of New York. 2. At Parmont, where it 
has another connection with New York city by a ferry of twenty-four 
miles. 3. At Newburgh, where it is connected with New York city 
by a sixty mile ferry. 

On Lake Erie and Niagara river it has three terynini. 1. The most 
western terminus is at Dunkirk, on Lake Erie, forty-two miles west of 
Buffalo. 2. It has a terminus at Buffalo, via the Buffalo and New 
York city railroad, branching off at Ilornellsville. 3. It has a third 
terminus at Niagara Falls and Suspension bridge, via Conandaigua 
and Niagara Falls railroad branch, connecting with the New York and 
Erie railroad at Elmira, Chemung county, New York. 

The New York and Erie railroad keeps in operation three daily ex- 
press trains, and one mail train, in addition to its numerous stock and 
freight trains, making direct connection with all the steamboat lines 
on Lake Erie, and with all the railroad trains running on the northern 
and southern shores of that lake. It connects with its various branches 
as follows : — 

1. With Buffalo, by the Buffalo and New York city railroad. 

2. With Niagara Falls, by the Conandaigua and Niagara Falls rail- 
road. 

3. With Cayuga Lake, from Oswego, by Cayuga and Susquehanna 
railroad. 



324 RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

4. With Avon Springs and Rochester, from Corning, by Corning 
and Rochester railroad. 

5. With Syracuse and Binghampton, by Binghampton and Syracuse 
railroad. 

6. With Scranton, at Great Bend, by Delaware and Lachawana 
railroad. 

7. With Philadelphia and Elmira, by Williamsport and Elmira rail- 
road. 

8. With Newburgh, at Middleton, by Newburgh branch railroad. 
Among many other inducements for travellers to take the New York 

and Erie railroad, we may mention the circumstance that they will 
have one less change than they would have by any other route ; and, 
besides, in travelling to New York city by this railroad, there is a sav- 
ing of distance in comparison with the Albany route, as follows : — 
27 miles saved in distance to and from Dunkirk to New York. 
22 " " " " Buffalo " 

17 " " " " Niagara Falls " 

Persons leaving Cincinnati at 6 o'clock, A. M. daily, and Cleveland 
at twenty minutes past 3, P. M., arrive at New York city on the fol- 
lowing day at thirty -six minutes past 12 o'clock, M. Those who leave 
Niagara Falls or Buffalo in the morning trains, arrive in New York 
city on the same day. Those leaving the same places in the evening 
rain, arrive at New York early on the following morning. See the map 
of this railroad on the opposite page. 

In concluding our notice of the New York and Erie railroad, we are 
compelled by a sense of justice to speak of the eflScient means which 
have been used on this road to insure the safety of passengers. With 
this great object in view, the prevalent error in the construction of 
railway tracks has been corrected by adopting a guage six feet wide — 
one foot and a quarter wider than that of the New York Central Rail- 
road. This is an improvement in railroad building which must strike 
every judicious observer as one of the obvious necessities of railroad travel 
in the United States, although the narrow tracks, notwithstanding their 
manifest dangers and disadvantages, are still in general use. Owing 
to the unusual width of the track, the cars on this road afford very su- 
perior accommodations to the traveller, being more spacious than rail- 
road cars generally are. As a security against those accidents to which 
travellers by railroad are commonly exposed, the New York and Erie 
company have established a telegraph line along the route, by which 
notices of delays, &c., may be transmitted, with the speed of lightning, 
from one extremity to the other ; collisions on this road are therefore 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 395 

impossible. We can conscientiously recommend this line as the safest, 
cheapest, quickest, and in all respects, the best railroad route between 
the East and the West. The President of this company is Homer 
Ramsdale ; General Superintendent, D. C. McCallum ; General AVest- 
ern Agent, B, F. Smith. 



THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1811. 



This earthquake was the most remarkable phenomenon that ever 
occurred on the American continent within the memory of man. The 
shocks were repeated with more or less violence, for the space of three 
months, and were felt along the course of the Mississippi from Cairo 
to New Orleans. The central point of the convulsions appears to have 
been about seventy miles below the former place. The scenes which 
presented themselves during the earthquake, or succession of earth- 
quakes, to speak more properly, were terrible beyond all powers of de- 
scription. The first shock was felt on the night of December 16th, 
1811 ; it made a great commotion in the waters of the river, and 
greatly alarmed the boatmen. The steamer Orleans, the first steam- 
boat built in the west, was on her passage to New Orleans, and was 
tossed about as it were by a violent tempest. Just below New Madrid, 
a flat boat belonging to Richard Stump was swamped, and six men 
were drowned. During the various shocks, the banks of the Missis- 
sippi caved in by whole acres at a time. Large trees disappeared 
under the ground or were cast with frightful violence into the river. 
At times, the waters of the Mississippi were seen to rise up like a wall 
in the middle of the stream, and then suddenly rolling back would beat 
against either bank with terrific force. Boats of considerable size were 
often cast "high and dry" upon the shores of the river. Frequently 
a loud roaring and hissing were heard, like the escape of steam from 
a boiler. The water of the river was much agitated. Whole islands 
disappeared. On the shores, the earth opened in wide fissures, and 
closing again threw the water, sand and mud, in jets higher than the 
trees. A dense fog or mist pervaded the atmosphere. The air was 
impregnated with a sulphurous eflluvium, and a taste of sulphur was 
observed in tho water of the river and the neighboring springs. 

Each shock of the earthquake was accompanied by what seemed to 
be the reports of heavy artillery. A man who was on the river in a 
boat at the time of one of the shocks, declares that he saw the mighty 



326 Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 

Mississippi cut in twain, while the waters poured down a vast chasm 
into the bowels of the earth. A moment more, and the chasm was 
filled, but the boat which contained this witness was cinished in the 
tumultuous efforts of the flood to regain its former level. The town 
of NewMadrid, Missouri, was almost entirely destroyed by these convul- 
sions of nature. This town, which formerly stood on a bluff bank, fifteen 
or twenty feet above the summer floods, sunk so low that the next rise 
of the water covered it to the depth of five feet. Many of the inhabi- 
tants were drowned, and the buildings generally were destroyed. 

One of the lakes formed by this earthquake is nearly sixty miles 
long and several miles wide. The legislature of Missouri, in 1851, 
made an appropriation for the purpose of reclaiming the sunken lands. 
A more terrible calamity of this kind has rarely been recorded in the 
history of the world. Fortunately, it occurred at a time when that 
part of the country was but thinly inhabited. 



BURNINa OF THREE STEAMERS. 

Between the hours of 12 and 1 o'clock, on Monday morning, De- 
cember 3d, 1855, a fire broke out on board of the steam packet George 
Collier, Captain Burdett, lying at the lower landing, Memphis, Tenn. 
The steamer had just arrived, and had not been made fast, when the 
mate discovered the fire in a small closet under a flight of steps in the 
forward part of the boat. From this small beginning, the flames 
spread to every part of the steamer, in less than five minutes. All 
efforts to arrest their progress proving ineffectual. 

Captain Burdett, perceiving that the total destruction of the boat 
was inevitable, gave the alarm to the passengers in the cabin. His 
first efforts were directed to the preservation of the ladies, and in this, 
by almost superhuman exertions, he succeeded. The male passengers 
and some of the officers and crew were compelled to save themselves 
by jumping off, some into the river and some on the lower deck of the 
wharf boat, which lay near the Collier. This fine wharf boat, called 
the Mary Hunt, together with the steamer May Flower, which lay on 
the other side, was soon involved in the fate of the George Collier, 
and the three burning vessels are said to have presented one of the 
most magnificent and terrible spectacles ever witnessed in that locality. 
A flood of light, even at that dreary midnight hour, made every ob- 
ject distinctly visible for a great distance around the conflagration. 
Crowds of people rushed to the wharves, all in the most intense ex- 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 307 

citement and anxiety for the fate of the many people who were known 
to be on board the blazing steamer. There were more than forty pas- 
sengers on the George Collier, who together with the officers and crew 
made a total of sixty-five or seventy people, all of whom, for a time, 
appeared to be doomed to an agonizing death. The register of the 
passengers names was destroyed with the boat. It is impossible, 
therefore, to state, with any degree of precision, how many lives were 
lost, but twelve persons, at least, are known to have perished. 

The George Collier had just completed her trip from New Orleans 
to Memphis, with a valuable cargo, all of which was destroyed. None 
of the passengers had landed. 

Killed. — Arthur Dignan, of Philadelphia, assistant bar-keeper of 
the Mayflower ; R. S. Candon, of Louisville, engineer of the Gaines' 
Landing Railroad ; another gentleman attached to the same Railroad, 
name not mentioned ; James Banks, cook of the Collier, and Sidney, 
a cabin boy of the same boat ; several of the cabin passengers and 
three or four colored people, names unknown. 

The George Collier was valued at ^35,000 ; the Mayflower at 
$100,000, and the wharf boat at $15,000. The whole loss by this 
conflagration is estimated at $250,000, 



THE MARTHA WASHINGTON. 

The loss of the steamer Martha Washington, with its attendant cir- 
cumstances, is one of the most extraordinary events in the records of 
marine disasters, a cloud of mystery hanging over the whole subject, 
which will probably never be cleared away. This steamer. Captain 
Cummins, commander, was on her way from Cincinnati to New Oi'leans, 
when she took fire on the Mississippi river, near Island No. 65, at 
about half-past one o'clock, on the morning of January 14, 1852. The 
boat was entirely consumed. Several passengers lost their lives, but 
all the officers and crew, except the carpenter, were saved. The work 
of destruction Avas completed within three minutes. A whole family 
consisting of a man, his wife and two children, perished in the flames. 
Two or three other persons were either burned to death or drowned 
while attempting to escape from the fire. The books and papers were 
all lost. 

The burning of this boat has given occasion for several law-suits and 
criminal prosecutions. A charge of conspiring to burn the boat has 
been made by Sidney C. Burton, of Cleveland, Ohio, against Wm. 



328 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



Kissane, L. L. Filley, tlie brothers Chapin, Lyman Cole, Alfred Nichol- 
son, the clerk of the Martha Washington, and several others. It was 
alleged that a heavy insurance on the cargo was obtained from several 




B V K N I N I. O F T il E M A R T JI A T|- A S H I N G T N 



offices, and that the boat hatl been frj'.udulently laden with boxes con- 
taining nothing more valuable than bricks, stones, and rubbish. It is 
said that in the summer of 1852, L. L. Filley of Cincinnati, one of 
the persons implicated in this imputed crime, confessed on his death- 
bed that there had been no merchandize shipped on the Martha Wash- 
ington, and that the boat had been designedly set on fire to defraud 
the Insurance Companies. Sidney C. Burton states that he shipped 
on this boat a quantity of leather valued at $1,500, and that he was 
unable to obtain the insurance money, because the insurance officers 
protested that the boat had been fraudulently set on fire. At the suit 
of Mr. Burton, the persons named above were arrested on the charge 
of conspiring to burn the boat, which involved the charge of murdering 
the passengers who were lost. Kissane was tried at Lebanon, Ohio, 
and afterwards at Cincinnati, and was convicted ; he obtained a new 
trial, and was acquitted. All the persons implicated were afterwards 
tried at Columbus, Ohio, for conspiracy, forgery, &c., but the jury 
brought in a verdict of " not guilty." Burton then obtained a requi- 
sition from the Governor of Arkansas on the authorities of Ohio, and 
had all the accused parties arrested by officer Bruen, at the Walnut 
street house, Cincinnati, in 1854. They were hurried into an omnibus 
heavily ironed and ill-treated, and conveyed down to one of the wharves 
below Cincinnati, placed on a boat, and carried away to Jeffersonville, 
Ind., and from thence to Helena, Ark., to be tried for murder, arson, 
&c., where they were confined in a miserable jail three months. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 329 

They were again acquitted in the Court of Arkansas. But the 
determined prosecutor again returned to the charge. Kissane, one of 
the defenders, in order to raise money to defray the expenses of his 
legal defonce, committed a forgery on the Chemical Bank of New 
York, in the summer of 1854. Some of his friends or advocates as- 
sert that he committed this deed in mere desperation, having been 
driven to the last extremity by the prosecutions or persecutions of 
Burton. Kissane was arrested for this forgery, but while in the cus- 
tody of an oiiicer, he contrived to make his escape from the railroad 
car by creeping through an aperture in the water closet. After con- 
cealing himself for some time, he was retaken, tried, and sentenced 
to the State's prison, at Sing Sing, two and a half years ; but in De- 
cember of 1855, he was pardoned by Governor Clark, of New York. 
In the same month and year, the Grand Jury of Hamilton county, 
Ohio, found a true bill against Burton, the prosecutor of Kissane, &c., 
and another person, named Coons, for perjury. Coons acknowledged 
that Burton had paid kim for giving in false evidence at the trial of 
the persons charged with burning the Martha Washington. 

Such being the facts of the case, there are many conflicting opi- 
nions in relation to the guilt or innocence of the parties charged with 
the horrid crime of setting fire to the steamer and sacrificing the 
lives of several passengers, for the purpose of obtaining a sum of 
money from the insurance ofiices. Several other incidents of a mys- 
terious and romantic character are related in connection with this nar- 
rative. Sidney C. Burton, the prosecutor of Kissane, &c., lately died 
(December 11th, 1855,) at Cleveland, Ohio, in circumstances which 
give a color of probability to a prevailing suspicion that he was poi- 
soned. It is mentioned also that an attempt was before made to 
poison him at a hotel in Columbus, Ohio. The whole afi'air presents 
a tangled web whiclr-it would require a good deal of ingenuity to 
unravel. 



EXPLOSION OF THE LEXINGTOiN-. 

This disaster occurred at six o'clock, A. M., on the first day of July, 
1855, about ninety miles below Louisville, on the Ohio river. Every 
person on board, except those of the crew who had been appointed to 
keep the night watch, Averc in their berths. Three boilers exploded at 
the same moment, demolishing the whole of the upper works forward 
of the wheel house, and hurling many of the sleeping crew and pas- 
sengers into the water, without any premonition of danger. The 



330 



LLOYDS STEAMBOAT DISASTEKS 



steamer was under way at the time of the accident, and the engine had 
been working steadily without intermission, for two hours. There 
were about fifty cabin passengers, exclusive of eight ladies, one child, 
and a nurse, who, together with the officers, crew and deck passengers 
made a sum total of one hundred and thirty persons. 

The explosion produced a deafening report and the wreck imme- 
diately took fire. " Then," says an eye-witness, " was presented a 
dreadful harrowing scene, such as no pen can describe, no imagination 
conceive. Many persons were blown into the river, a few of whom 




EXPLOSION OF THE LEXINGTON. 



swam ashore ; many fell on the boat, and were mingled in awful con- 
fusion with the fragments of the wreck ; all was lit up by the blazing 
timber, which, in that dead hour of the night, cast an unearthly gleam 
on the hideous spectacle. To the spectator, to whose harrowed sight 
were visible the blackened bodies of the dead and the expiring agonies 
of those who struggled in the water, and on whose ears rung the 
groans of those who were expiring on the wreck, the scene was one of 
the most terrific and heart-rending description." 

The second mate, Peter Edds, ordered the anchor to be thrown over- 
board as soon as possible, and the steamer dragged for two miles down 
the stream. The scene of the disaster was near some wood-choppers' 
cabins, on the Kentucky shore. These people, as soon as they dis- 
covered the misfortune which had befallen the Lexington, came in 
their skifis, and took oif the surviving passengers. The ladies gene- 
rally were saved. The males, with very few exceptions, were more or 
less injured. 



Lloyd's steamboat disasters. 331 

Killed. — "W. C. Larkins, Madison, Ind. ; Mr. Phillips, Liberty, 
Mo. ; Henry Lewis ; John Taylor, colored porter ; Thomas Bald^vin, 
and William Harrison, colored ; James Miller, second clerk, Nashville ; 
M. R. Fairchild, bar keeper; P. Willis, second engineer, Smithfield ; 
M. Bernard, pilot ; Samuel Lowery, colored ; two brothers, names un- 
known ; Mr. Haines, carpenter ; a German deck hand ; a colored fire- 
man, and eleven others, names unknown, making a total of about thirty 
five. 

Wounded. — Capt. Throop, Col. Bales and Thomas Payne, Louis- 
ville ; Thomas Gibson, first mate ; E. G. Davidson, first clerk, Padu- 
cah, Ky. ; Sneed Strang, pilot, J. B Johnston and M. Twigg, Nash- 
ville ; S. W. Anderson, assistant engineer ; D. Harris, Cincinnati ; 
Henry, colored boy ; J. Gardner, King's Landing, Ky. ; P. Flynn, 
Auburn, N. Y. ; J. Johnson and A. Badger, pilot, St. Louis ; W. P. 
Johnston, Madison ; T. Ryan, St. Louis ; Capt. Thomas White, Louis- 
ville ; Mr. ]McElroy, Lebanon, Ky ; J. Hall, Liberty, Mo. ; Charles 
Squire, and others, names not mentioned. 

The boat turned bottom upward, and sunk near Stephensport. The 
steamer D. A. Given took charge of those passengers who had been 
carried to the Kentucky shore by the wood choppers. It is remarked 
as a singular circumstance that few persons were scalded by this ex- 
plosion. Most of the wounded were badly bruised or had their limbs 
broken. Many were drowned, of whom no account will ever be given, 
as the books and papers, and all the baggage, except that in the ladies' 
cabin, were destroyed. 

Capt. J. V. Throop, the commander of the Lexington, has been en- 
gaged on the river for twenty-five years. He is a prudent and ex- 
perienced officer, and this is the first accident that ever befel a boat 
under his command. 



THE END. 



PALMER'S GREAT MARINE PUMP. 

We have seen all kinds of Marine pumps in operation, have kno\Yn some of these 
pumps to throw ten thousand j^allons of water per minute and raise sunken vessels 
in five and sis hours, but we have seen a pump in operation that eclipses them all 
in rc2;ard to utility and power, we mean " Palmer's Marine Pump," justly entitled 
to the name of the " Invincible." Palmer's Marine Pump is constructed on an 
entire new principle, combining the most simple and gigantic means for raising 
sunken vessels. This great Marine Pump was patented July, 1855. It consists 
of a wheel chamber between tliree and four feet in diameter, with a suction and 
discharge pipe attached, all of cast iron. The latter is eighteen and a half inclv- 




palmer's marine pump as worked ey hand. 
in diameter. In the chamber is a perpendicular screw wheel, which, when in ope- 
ration, isTOade rapidly to revolve, and thus on the principles of reaction and ai- 
mospheric pressure, the water is raised and discharged at the rate of seventeen 
thousand gallons per minute, rendering it almost impossible for a steamboat or ship 
to sink tchile one of these tremendotis pumps is in operation. Had tlie ill-fated steam- 
ship Arctic been supplied with Palmer's Marine Pumps at the time of her colli- 
sion, she would never have ffone to the bottom of the Atlantic, hurrying into eternity 
three hundred souls. 

For wrecking purposes, an engine of five or six horse power is used, and as there 
are to valves to Palmer's Marine Pump, it is so constructed that sand, grain, cof- 
fee, dried fruit, or any article of like nature, cannot choke it up and impede its 
rapid operations. The Pump is not cumbersome, but can be eaaily conveyed 



land and by water. Its simplicity and strength are such that it is impossible for 
the " Palmer Pump" to get out of order, rendering it one of man's greatest auxil- 
iaries. To show its power and value we have only to refer to some of its great 
feats to place it beyond all doubt as the greatest Pump ever invented. 




WORKED RY STKAM. INTERIOR VIEW OF CHAMBER. 

The Propeller Cincinnati, stranded on the rocks last fall, in the neighborhood of 
Goodrich, on Lake Huron ; her planks were cut through in many places as she 
went down, and the water poured in as rapidly as it was pumped out. All efforts 
to raise her proved unavailing, until her owners obtained a single Palmer's Pump 
with only a sixteen inch discharge, and the propeller was raised in just forty min- 
utes after the Palmer Pump was set in motion. During the forty minutes this 
celebrated Pump was in motion on the Propeller, it threw out 5000 bushels of 
wheat, which was pressed through the pump with the water. The steamer Ni- 
agara was also raised in twenty-four minutes by the use of this Pump, discharg- 
ing twelve tons of coffee, chips, sand, &c., &c., with the water. 

The Propeller Saginaw was raised by this Pump in twenty-four minutes ; but the 
greatest performance of all was the raising of the Propeller Napoleon with a val- 
uable cargo of copper ore, &c., sunk last spring in Sault St. Marie river. She was 
pumped out in nine and a half minutes, as timed by the editor of the " Lake Su- 
perior Journal," who was on the spot ; and who does not remember the peerless 
steamer May Flower, so long the pride of the Lakes, how she sunk and had been 
given up by her owners long ago as lost, but Palmer's Marine Pump was set in 
operation on board this vessel and notwithstanding the great opening in her bot- 
tom, was set afloat in fifty-one minutes and taken to Buffalo in good order. We 
could give many instances where this great Pump had raised vessels supposed to 
have been totally lost, but deem it needless to cite further instances of its great 
merits. This Pump is also invaluable to Railroads, for coffer dams, also for sugar 
plantations, and we hope that ere long insurance companies will refuse t^insure 
vessels not supplied with " Palmer's Marino Pump," believing as we do that it 
would be almost impossible for a vessel to sink with one of these Pumps on board. 
This Marine Pump is used on all ships belonging to the Collins line of ocean 
steamers, which we are glad to announce to those visiting Europe. Messrs. 
N. P. Ferris and Capt. D. Millard are the proprietors and general agents for the 
Mississippi Valley and its tributaries, who will sell rights or Pumps of various 
sizes, for any district South and West. Their office is No. 3 Sycamore, near the 
Steamboat Landing, Cincinnati, Ohio. — From Lloyd^s Steamboat Directory and 
Disasters on the Western Waters, 



NATHAJJIEL D. nir\TER, 



JOHN COBFRN, 



WM. EDMESTON 



HUNTER, GOBURN ^ EDMBSTON, 



Importers and Manufacturers of 







Saddle Trees, Leather, Springs, Axles, &c. 

No. 2 CHURCH-BUILDING, 
WALMIT STREET, BETWEEN THiSD AMI) FOURTH STS., 




BRO^DWAl CORNER OF FjrTH SlRLLl 



(Late LowRY & Kulb,) 

Corner ©f Broadway and Fifth Street, Cmcmnati, Ohio, 

Has constantly on hand a large variety cf ITALIAN" AND AMERICAN MAR- 
BLE, MONUMENTS, TOMBS, GRAVE STONES, and MARBLE MANTLES of 
every variety of style and finish. Also, BAPTISMAL FONTS, MURAL TABLETS,^ 
URNS, VASES, GARDEN FIGURES, CABINET and COUNTER SLABS, &c. he' 
Ilaving all the modern Steam facilities used in the manutacture of Marble, is pre- 
pared to furnish all orders with promptness and dispatch. 

. Monumental and other designs t';n--aj.?he;i i.;) a;l;ir«3:;. 
The Trade siipplicil willi Marli'e in block anl slab, or sawed to order. 




FIFTH STREET CORNER OF liROADVVAY. 



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